fundamen 

of  tlit 


itian  'is  the  conservation 
the  nation 


AMERICAN     LABOR     LEGISLATION 


VOL.  V,  No.  2 
PUBLICATION  29 


REVIEW 


ISSUED  QUARTERLY 
PRICE  $3.00  PER  YEAR 


UNEMPLOYMENT 


Second  National  Conference 

and 
Reports  of 

INVESTIGATIONS 


Supplemental  Bibliography 


JUNE,   1915 

PROCEEDINGS  SECOND  NATIONAL  CONFERENCE  ON  UNEMPLOYMENT, 
PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,   DECEMBER  28-29,  1914 


AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  FOR  LABOR  LEGISLATION 
131  EAST  23d  ST.,  NEW  YORK  CITY 

Entered  as  second-class  matter  February  30, 1911,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  N.  Y., 
under  tke  Act  of  July  16, 1894 

PRICE    ONE    DOLLAR 


' 


AMERICAN  LABOR  LEGISLATION  REVIEW 

Vol.  V,  No.  2 


Princeton  University  Press 
Princeton,  N.  J. 


AMERICAN  LABOR  LEGISLATION 

REVIEW 

Vol.  V  JUNE,  1915  No.  2 

CONTENTS 

I.  A  PRACTICAL  PROGRAM  FOR  THE  PREVENTION  OF 

UNEMPLOYMENT   IN    AMERICA    JOHN  B.  ANDREWS  171 

Foreword 173 

Establishment  of  Public  Employment  Exchanges 176 

Systematic  Distribution  of  Public  Work 182 

Regularization  of  Industry   184 

Unemployment    Insurance 189 

Other  Helpful  Measures 192 

II.  UNEMPLOYMENT  PROBLEMS 

Public    Employment    Bureaus — Organiza- 
tion and  Operation CHARLES  B.  BARNES  195 

Juvenile   Employment    Exchanges ELSA  UELAND  203 

Redistribution  of  Public  Work  in  Oregon .  FRANK  O'HARA  238 

Seasonal  Fluctuation  in  Public  Works F.  ERNEST  RICHTER  245 

Compulsory    Unemployment   Insurance   in 

Great  Britain  OLGA  S.  HALSEY  265 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION    279 

III.  THE  RELATION  OF  IRREGULAR  EMPLOYMENT  TO 

THE  LIVING  WAGE  FOR  WOMEN IRENE  OSGOOD  ANDREWS  287 

Introductory   Summary    291 

Statistical  Analysis  of  Industries 313 

Paper  Boxes    313 

Confectionery    332 

Clothing    356 

Shirtmaking   371 

Miscellaneous  Needle  Trades 376 

Bookbinding 385 

Salesgirls     391 

Laundries    400 


Canning  and  Preserving 408 

Miscellaneous  Industries    410 

Analysis   of   Minimum   Wage    Awards   to 

January  1,  1915 416 

IV.  PREVENTION  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT 

Opening  Address   GEORGE  W.  NORRIS          421 

What  the  Enlightened  Employer  is  Think- 
ing about  Unemployment ROBERT  G.  VALENTINE  423 

The  Workers  and  Unemployment JOHN  F.  TOBIN  429 

Responsibility  and  Opportunity  of  the 
City  in  the  Prevention  of  Unemploy- 
ment   MORRIS  L.  COOKE  433 

Relation  of  the  State  to  Unemployment.  .JOHN  P.  JACKSON  437 

The  Nation  and  the  Problem  of  Unemploy- 
ment   METER  LONDON  446 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION    450 

V.  SUPPLEMENTAL  SELECT  BIBLIOGRAPHY  ON  UNEMPLOYMENT 457 


The  American  Labor  Legislation  REVIEW  is  published  quarterly  by  the 
American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation,  131  East  23d  St.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
The  price  is  one  dollar  per  single  copy,  or  three  dollars  per  year  in  advance. 
An  annual  subscription  includes  individual  membership  in  the  Association. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

Following  the  First  National  Conference  on  Unem- 
ployment, which  was  called  under  the  joint  auspices  of  the 
American  Associations  on  Unemployment  and  on  Labor 
Legislation,  efforts  were  made  to  carry  out  the  duties 
placed  upon  the  two  organizations  by  resolutions  adopted 
by  that  conference.  The  resolutions  outlined  the  field  for 
study  and  urged  especial  attention  to  organization  of  the 
labor  market,  regularization  of  industry,  vocational 
guidance,  systematic  distribution  of  public  works,  and 
unemployment  insurance. 

Fortunately,  preparations  for  three  steps  in  this  direc- 
tion were  already  under  way,  and  with  the  proceedings  of 
that  conference  it  was  possible  to  publish  in  May,  1914, 
reports  upon  the  operation  of  public  employment  bureaus, 
the  status  of  unemployment  insurance  legislation,  and  a 
classified  critical  bibliography. 

Immediate  efforts  were  made  by  the  secretary  to  raise 
the  necessary  funds  for  further  study,  with  sufficient  suc- 
cess to  warrant  the  employment  of  several  assistants  who 
have  devoted  themselves  to  this  work.  Juliet  Stuart 
Poyntz  began  work  on  June  1,  1914,  and  has  concentrated 
on  the  investigation  of  seasonally  in  industry,  particularly 
in  the  district  in  and  around  Boston.  In  the  prosecution  of 
this  work  the  cooperation  of  several  local  and  state  organiza- 
tions was  secured,  including  particularly  the  Boston  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  and  the  Minimum  Wage  Commission, 


the  Public  Employment  Bureau,  and  the  Bureau  of  Statis- 
tics of  Massachusetts. 

Elsa  Ueland,  who  had  recently  finished  her  work  with 
the  Public  Education  Association  of  New  York,  was 
engaged  to  prepare  the  report  on  possibilities  of  coopera- 
tion between  boards  of  education,  departments  of  health 
and  juvenile  departments  of  public  employment  bureaus. 
F.  Ernest  Richter  and  Frank  O'Hara  studied  the  existing 
practices  regarding  employment  on  public  works  in  Boston 
and  in  the  state  of  Oregon.  Olga  S.  Halsey,  also  from  the 
results  of  actual  field  investigation,  prepared  a  report  upon 
the  operation  of  the  British  compulsory  unemployment 
insurance  system.  Another  study,  arranged  through 
cooperation  with  the  New  York  State  Factory  Investi- 
gating Commission,  resulted  in  the  report  by  Irene  Osgood 
Andrews  upon  the  relation  of  irregularity  of  employment 
to  the  living  wage  for  women.  All  of  these  reports  of 
investigations,  except  the  one  on  seasonally  in  industry, 
are  here  published. 

The  effort  throughout  has  been  to  make  first  hand 
studies  of  conditions  and  to  assemble  in  convenient  form 
the  basis  of  American  fact  so  much  needed  for  a  definite 
program  of  reform.  Growing  out  of  these  studies  it  was 
possible  in  December,  1914,  to  distribute  a  twenty-page 
pamphlet  under  the  title  A  Practical  Program  for  the 
Prevention  of  Unemployment  in  America.  Although  this 
was  issued  as  a  "first  tentative  draft,"  the  demand  for  it 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  required  four  separate 
editions  totaling  22,000  copies  within  a  few  months.  Upon 
the  basis  of  further  consideration  and  numerous  sugges- 
tions received,  the  revised  edition  of  this  practical  program 


is  here  published.  Additional  copies,  in  separate  form,  will 
be  sent  upon  request  to  individuals  or  organizations  who 
may  wish  to  make  use  of  them  in  the  struggle  against 
unemployment. 

The  Second  National  Conference  on  Unemployment 
was  held  in  Philadelphia,  on  December  28-29,  1914,  and 
addresses  there  delivered  are  also  included  in  this  issue. 

Throughout  1914  and  the  early  part  of  1915  interest  in 
the  problem  of  unemployment  steadily  increased.  Six 
state  legislatures — beginning  with  New  York — made 
provision  for  public  employment  exchanges,  and  a  number 
of  cities,  New  York  again  leading,  set  up  municipal 
bureaus.  No  fewer  than  six  bills  to  establish  a  national 
system  of  exchanges  were  introduced  in  Congress.  Several 
well  attended  hearings  were  held,  but  action  was  deferred 
in  response  to  an  announcement  by  the  federal  Industrial 
Relations  Commission  that  it  was  preparing  a  measure; 
and  when  one  of  the  six  bills  was  finally  reported  by  the 
House  Labor  Committee  on  February  20  last  it  was  too 
late  in  the  session  to  lead  to  any  result.  An  article  on 
A  National  System  of  Labor  Exchanges,  first  published 
as  a  special  supplement  to  the  New  Republic  for  December 
26,  1914,  and  reprinted  as  a  senate  document,  was  used  in 
the  campaign  for  national  action.  A  bill  establishing 
public  unemployment  insurance,  another  point  in  the  prac- 
tical program,  is  being  drafted  by  our  Social  Insurance 
Committee  for  early  introduction  in  state  legislatures. 

The  rising  interest  in  the  whole  question  is  furthermore 
evidenced  by  the  continual  flood  of  correspondence  and 
personal  inquiries  at  our  offices  and  the  continued  demand 
for  the  REVIEW  for  May,  1914,  containing  the  proceedings 


of  the  First  National  Conference  on  Unemployment. 
Numerous  addresses  have  also  been  made  by  officers  of  the 
Associations  and  by  members  of  the  staff. 

Special  committees  to  study  various  phases  of  the 
problem  have  already  been  formed  under  the  Association's 
auspices  in  Oregon,  Pennsylvania  and  Massachusetts.  The 
eager  spirit  of  inquiry  finally  led  to  a  number  of  organiza- 
tions' requesting  this  Association  to  conduct  one  single 
cooperative  survey  which  will  include  efforts  put  forth  in 
the  chief  American  cities  to  meet  the  unemployment  situa- 
tion of  1914-1915.  Investigators  are  already  at  work  on 
this  survey. 

The  select  bibliography  published  a  year  ago  has  been 
supplemented  in  this  issue  by  over  seventy  new  titles, 
mainly  reports  and  magazine  articles,  with  a  few  books, 
which  have  appeared  in  the  intervening  period.  For  edi- 
torial assistance  and  reading  of  proofs  credit  is  due  Solon 
De  Leon  of  the  office  staff. 

JOHN  B.  ANDREWS,  Secretary. 
American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation, 
American  Association  on  Unemployment. 


A  PRACTICAL  PROGRAM  FOR  THE  PREVENTION  OF 
UNEMPLOYMENT  IN  AMERICA 


By 

JOHN  B.  ANDREWS 


FOURTH  EDITION:   REVISED 
(First  tentative  draft  issued  December,  1914) 


FOREWORD 

The  time  is  past  when  the  problem  of  unemployment  could 
be  disposed  of  either  by  ignoring  it,  as  was  the  practice  until 
recent  years  in  America,  or  by  attributing  it  to  mere  laziness  and 
inefficiency.  We  are  beginning  to  recognize  that  unemployment 
is  not  so  much  due  to  individual  causes  and  to  the  shiftlessness 
of  "won't-works,"  as  social  and  inherent  in  our  present  method 
of  industrial  organization. 

During  the  winter  of  1914-1915  the  Metropolitan  Life 
Insurance  Company,  at  the  request  of  the  committee  on  unem- 
ployment appointed  by  the  mayor  of  New  York,  estimated  after 
a  careful  canvass  of  its  industrial  policy-holders  that  442,000 
persons  were  unemployed  in  New  York  City.  In  the  first  two 
weeks  of  February  a  careful  canvass  was  made  by  agents  of  the 
federal  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  on  the  basis  of  which  it  was 
estimated  that  398,000  were  still  unemployed  at  that  time.  The  dis- 
puted estimate  of  325,000  unemployed  in  that  city  alone,  made 
during  the  previous  winter  by  the  Association  for  Improving 
the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  seems,  therefore,  not  to  have  been 
exaggerated.  At  the  same  time  relief  agencies  in  many  other 
cities  were  swamped.  Municipal  lodging  houses  were  turning 
away  many  genuine  seekers  after  work — to  sleep  on  bare  boards 
at  the  docks,  in  warehouses,  even  in  morgues. 

The  United  States  Census  for  1900  showed  that  6,468,964 
working  people,  or  nearly  25  per  cent  of  all  engaged  in  gainful 
occupations,  had  been  unemployed  some  time  during  the  year. 
Of  these  3,177,753  lost  from  one  to  three  months'  work  each; 
2,554,925  lost  from  four  to  six  months  each;  736,286  lost  from 
seven  to  twelve  months  each. 

Similar  data  were  collected  by  the  government  in  1910,  but 
they  are  still  unpublished. 

In  1901  the  federal  Bureau  of  Labor  investigated  24,402 
working  class  families  in  thirty-three  states,  and  found  that 
12,154  heads  of  families  had  been  unemployed  for  an  average 
period  of  9.43  weeks  during  the  year.  The  New  York  State 
Department  of  Labor  collected  reports  each  month  during  the 


174  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

ten  years  1901-1911  from  organized  workmen  averaging  in 
number  99,069  each  month,  and  found  that  the  average  number 
unemployed  each  month  was  14,146,  or  18.1  per  cent. 

The  federal  Census  of  Manufactures  for  1905  shows  that  in 
one  month  7,017,138  wage-earners  were  employed,  while  in 
another  month  there  were  only  4,599,091,  leaving  a  difference 
of  2,418,047.  That  is  to  say,  nearly  two  and  a  half  million 
workers  were  either  unemployed  or  compelled  to  seek  a  new 
employer  during  the  year.  These  figures  were  drawn  from  the 
manufacturers7  own  records. 

It  is  important,  therefore,  that  those  who  are  aiming  at 
the  prevention  of  unemployment  in  America  should  never  for- 
get that  it  is  a  problem  continually  with  us,  in  good  seasons 
as  well  as  in  bad  seasons.  Occasional  crises,  with  their  sym- 
pathetic demands  for  temporary  relief,  should  not  blind  us  to 
the  need  for  a  constructive  program.  In  the  meantime  the 
community,  as  a  result  of  its  past  neglect  to  adopt  some 
energetic  constructive  policy  on  unemployment,  is  being  con- 
stantly confronted  with  an  army  of  idle  workers  whose  distress, 
which  becomes  conspicuous  with  the  approach  of  bitter  weather, 
demands  and,  according  to  the  analysis  here  presented,  deserves 
adequate  relief. 

Much  unemployment  is  clearly  caused  by  lack  of  efficient 
means  for  supplying  information  of  opportunities  and  for 
enabling  workers  to  move  smoothly  and  rapidly  from  job  to 
job.  Public  employment  exchanges  must  be  established. 

A  careful  arrangement  of  public  works  to  be  increased  in 
the  slack  seasons  and  lean  years  of  private  industry  would  help 
equalize  the  varying  demand  for  labor.  Public  work  must  be 
systematically  distributed. 

Much  unemployment  is  due  to  irregularity  of  industrial 
operations  over  which  the  workers  have  no  control.  Periodic 
abnormal  excess  of  labor  supply  over  labor  demand  is  caused 
by  the  fluctuations  of  industry,  which  in  its  present  disorganized 
form  makes  necessary  constant  reserves  waiting  to  answer  calls 
when  they  come.  Hundreds  of  thousands  more  of  workers 
are  needed  in  good  years  than  in  bad  years,  and  in  each  industry 
many  more  are  needed  in  the  busy  season  than  in  the  slack 
season.  Furthermore,  in  almost  every  business,  special  calls 
arise  for  more  workers  to  be  taken  on  for  a  few  weeks,  a  few 
days,  or  even  a  few  hours.  The  reserves  necessary  to  meet 


Practical  Pro  grant  175 

these  cyclical,  seasonal  or  casual  demands  should  be  reduced 
to  a  minimum.  Industry  must  be  regularized. 

While  reserves  of  labor  are  essential  to  the  operation  of 
fluctuating  industries,  the  industry  and  the  public  should  recog- 
nize their  responsibility  to  return  these  workers  to  industry  with 
efficiency  unimpaired  and  in  good  health  and  spirits,  and  to  pre- 
serve them  from  degenerating  through  privation  into  the  class  of 
unemployables.  Adequate  unemployment  insurance  must  be 
established. 

In  addition  to  these  measures  for  directly  attacking  unem- 
ployment, a  variety  of  other  policies  which  are  indirectly  help- 
ful should  also  be  encouraged.  Among  the  most  important  of 
these  are  better  industrial  training,  a  revival  of  agriculture,  a 
proper  distribution  of  immigrants,  and  adequate  care  for  the 
unemployable. 

The  general  scheme  of  economic  reconstruction  and  organi- 
zation here  outlined  is  based  upon  a  number  of  intensive  studies 
carried  on  during  1914  by  special  investigators  for  the  American 
Association  on  Unemployment,  in  affiliation  with  the  American 
Association  for  Labor  Legislation,  and  will,  it  is  believed,  lead  to 
conspicuous  and  permanent  improvement  in  what  has  well 
been  called  one  of  the  most  perplexing  and  urgent  of  industrial 
problems. 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT 

Any  comprehensive  and  workable  campaign  for  the  pre- 
vention of  unemployment  should  emphasize  the  following  lines 
ef  activity:  I.  Establishment  of  public  employment  exchanges; 
II.  Systematic  distribution  of  public  work;  III.  Regularization 
of  industry;  and  IV.  Unemployment  insurance. 

I.  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  PUBLIC  EMPLOYMENT 
EXCHANGES.  An  essential  step  toward  a  solution  of  the 
problem  of  unemployment  is  the  organization  of  the  labor 
market  through  a  connected  network  of  public  employment 
exchanges.  This  is  vitally  important  as  a  matter  of  business 
organization  and  not  of  philanthropy.  It  is  of  as  much 
importance  for  the  employer  to  find  help  rapidly  and  efficiently 
as  it  is  for  the  worker  to  find  work  without  delay.  The  neces- 
sity of  organized  markets  is  recognized  in  every  other  field  of 
economic  activity,  but  we  have  thus  far  taken  only  timid  and 
halting  steps  in  the  organization  of  the  labor  market.  The 
peddling  method  is  still,  even  in  our  "efficient"  industrial  system, 
the  prevalent  method  of  selling  labor.  Thus  a  purely  business 
transaction  is  carried  on  in  a  most  unbusiness-like,  not  to  say 
medieval,  manner. 

The  system  of  employment  exchanges  in  order  to  be 
thoroughly  effective  should  be  organized  not  only  by  muni- 
cipalities and  states,  but  also  by  the  federal  government.  Local 
exchanges  should  be  established  in  every  city,  either  by  the 
municipality,  or  by  the  state,  or  by  both  in  conjunction.  These 
should  be  brought  into  a  connected  system  by  means  of  state 
offices  which  would  act  as  clearing  houses  and  make  possible 
the  movement  of  workers  throughout  the  state  to  the  localities 
where  they  are  needed.  The  work  of  the  state  offices  should  be 
further  co-ordinated  by  an  interstate  exchange  of  information  and 
assisted  by  a  federal  employment  bureau  organized  on  a  national 
basis. 

About  sixty  public  employment  exchanges  have  been  established 
by  twenty-one  American  states,  in  addition  to  which  about  twenty  have 


Practical  Program  177 

been  opened  by  municipalities.  In  the  Congress  which  adjourned  on 
March  4,  1915,  no  fewer  than  six  bills  were  introduced  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  national  system  of  labor  exchanges  under  the  federal  govern- 
ment. In  Great  Britain  such  a  national  system,  comprising  over  400 
local  exchanges,  is  maintained  by  the  board  of  trade,  while  Germany 
has  323  offices  and  France  162,  all  maintained  by  local  authorities. 

1.  Local  Employment  Exchanges.  The  local  bureaus — 
state  and  municipal — should  aim  at  a  rapid  connection  between 
the  "right  man  for  the  job  and  the  right  job  for  the  man."  Their 
watchword  should  be  efficient  service  to  both  employer  and 
worker,  and  they  should  aim  to  extend  this  service  as  completely 
as  possible  into  all  industries  and  all  occupations.  In  establish- 
ing and  operating  these  exchanges  the  following  points  are 
important : 

(1)  LOCATION  AND  CHARACTER  OF  OFFICES.     Well  arranged, 
roomy,    easily    accessible    offices    should    be    chosen,    in    good 
neighborhoods. 

(2)  DEPARTMENTS.     Offices  should  be  divided  into  separate 
departments  for 

a.  Men,  women  and  children. 

b.  Separate  industrial  groups,  such  as  skilled  and  unskilled  labor, 
farm  labor,  domestic,  clerical  and  factory  labor,  and  the  handicapped. 
In   time,   as   their   organization   improves,   they  may  need   to   establish 
special  departments  for  certain  large  skilled  trades,  such  as  bookbinding, 
textiles,  and  boot  and  shoe  making,  and  for  professional  groups,  such 
as  teachers  and  skilled  technical  workers. 

Practically  every  public  employment  exchange  in  America  has 
separate  departments  for  men  and  for  women.  Four  have  separate 
juvenile  departments.  Division  into  skilled  and  unskilled  is  made 
in  two  offices,  and  in  the  new  municipal  exchange  in  New  York 
City  there  are  seven  departments:  Female:  (1)  mechanical, 
industrial  and  professional;  (2)  domestic,  hotel,  restaurant  and 
institutional  help.  Male:  (1)  mercantile,  professional,  technical, 
and  printing  trades;  (2)  juvenile;  (3)  building,  machine  shop  and 
foundry,  boot  and  shoe,  textile,  factory  help,  engineers  and  firemen; 
(4)  culinary,  including  cooks,  waiters,  countermen,  etc.;  (5) 
agricultural  and  general  unskilled  labor.  In  British  exchanges  the 
general  register  (which  excludes  casuals)  is  divided  into  twenty- 
two  separate  sections. 

(3)  VOCATIONAL    GUIDANCE.      There    should    be    a    special 
department  for  vocational  guidance,  to  co-operate  with  educational 


178  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

and  health  officials,  with  unions  and  with  employers,  in  endeavor- 
ing to  place  young  workers  where  they  will  have  an  opportunity 
for  industrial  training  and  for  real  advancement,  instead  of  leav- 
ing them  to  drift  into  blind-alley  occupations.  This  department 
should  be  in  charge  of  a  superintendent  experienced  in  vocational 
work  and  should  be  supervised  by  a  special  sub-committee  on 
juvenile  employment. 

Vocational  guidance  is  systematically  carried  on  by  the  public 
employment  exchanges  in  Massachusetts,  and  in  three  other  states  the 
beginnings  have  been  made  by  interested  superintendents.  In  Great 
Britain  vocational  guidance  is  a  recognized  and  important  function  of 
the  government  system  of  labor  exchanges.  In  London  a  local  com- 
mittee for  each  exchange,  including  representatives  of  the  county  council, 
the  head  teachers'  association,  employers  and  workers,  co-operates  with 
the  health  authorities  and  advises  children  and  their  parents. 

(4)  SELECTION  OF  APPLICANTS.    Applicants  should  be  placed 
on  the  basis  of  fitness  alone.    The  offices  should  not  be  allowed 
to  become  resorts  for  sub-standard  labor,  but  should  strive  to 
build  up  their  business  by  attracting  and   serving  the  better 
grades  of  workmen. 

Fitness  is  reported  as  a  basis  of  placement  in  twenty  American 
public  exchanges. 

(5)  DECASUALIZATION  OF  CASUAL  LABOR.     One  of  the  most 
important  functions  of  a  public  labor  exchange  should  be  the 
decasualization  of  casual  labor.     The  New  York  Commission 
on  Unemployment  reported  in  1911  that  two  out  of  every  five 
wage-earners  are  obliged  to  seek  new  places  one  or  more  times 
every   year.     When    all   casual    workers   are   hired    through    a 
common    center,    employment    can    be    concentrated    upon    the 
smallest  possible  number  instead  of  being  spread  over  a  large 
group   of   underemployed. 

Such  systems  are  in  successful  operation  in  Great  Britain  among 
31,000  Liverpool  dock  laborers,  the  cloth-porters  of  Manchester,  and 
the  skilled  ship-repairers  at  Cardiff  and  at  Swansea. 

(6)  DOVETAILING  OF  SEASONAL  INDUSTRIES.     The  dovetailing 
of  seasonal  trades,  so  as  to  provide  continued  employment  for 
workers  during  the  slack  seasons  of  their  ordinary  occupation, 
offers  a  promising  field  for  public  employment  exchange  activity. 


Practical  Program  179 

During  the  winter  building  trades  workers  could  take  up  ice  cutting 
or  logging,  or  do  some  of  the  less  skilled  work  in  shoe,  textile  or  other 
factories  which  are  busier  at  that  season.  Through  the  London  labor 
exchanges  women's  work  in  ready-made  tailoring,  which  is  busiest  in 
the  spring  and  fall,  has  been  dovetailed  with  hand  ironing  in  laundries, 
which  is  heaviest  during  the  summer. 

(7)  NEUTRALITY  IN  TRADE  DISPUTES.     These  agencies  should 
be  held  true  to  their  public  character  and  remain  neutral  in  all 
trade  disputes.    Applications  from  plants  affected  by  strikes  or 
by  lockouts  should  be  received,  but  workers  applying  for  posi- 
tions involved  should  be  explicitly  informed  of  the  existence  of 
the    dispute.      Statements    from    both    sides    about    the    issues 
involved   should   also  be   shown  to  the  applicants   when   they 
can  be  secured. 

This  is  the  method  followed,  with  complete  satisfaction  to  both 
sides,  in  most  American  public  employment  exchanges,  as  well  as  in 
England,  France,  Germany  and  Switzerland. 

(8)  ADVANCEMENT  OF  TRANSPORTATION.    The  officers  should 
be  empowered  to  advance,  under  careful  safeguards,   railroad 
fares  to  workers  when  necessary. 

The  Wisconsin  exchanges  sometimes  turn  over  to  applicants  the 
transportation  advanced  by  the  prospective  employer,  checking  the  man's 
baggage  to  the  employer  as  a  safeguard.  In  Great  Britain  the  exchanges 
advance  carfare  to  workers  residing  more  than  five  miles  from  the 
place  of  employment.  In  Germany  workmen  sent  more  than  about 
fifteen  miles  are  enabled  to  ride  for  half  fare. 

(9)  CO-OPERATION  WITH  OTHER  AGENCIES.    Offices  should  co- 
operate with  other  employment  bureaus,  municipal,  state  and 
federal,  in  exchanging  applications  for  help  and  for  work,  and  in 
adopting  uniform  systems  of  records. 

(10)  CIVIL  SERVICE.     Only  persons  qualifying  through  civil 
service  examinations  should  be  employed  in  the  work  of  the 
offices. 

Civil  service  qualification  is  required  in  the  state  exchanges  of 
Massachusetts,  Minnesota,  New  York  and  Wisconsin,  and  in  some 
municipal  exchanges,  including  that  in  New  York  City.  In  Great 
Britain  the  employees  of  the  national  system,  about  3,500  in  number, 
are  under  civil  service. 


180  American  Labor  Legislation  Revieiv 

(11)  REPRESENTATIVE  COMMITTEE.  Each  office  should  work 
under  the  supervision  and  advice  of  a  representative  committee 
composed  of  representatives  selected  by  both  employers  and 
workers. 

Such  representative  committees  have  been  established  in  Wisconsin, 
are  required  under  the  New  York  law,  and  have  long  been  an 
important  adjunct  to  the  exchanges  in  Great  Britain  and  in  France. 

2.  State  Systems.  The  most  advantageous  working  of  the 
local  exchanges  requires  that  these  be  united  in  efficient  state 
systems,  among  whose  duties  would  be: 

(1)  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  LOCAL  EXCHANGES.    The  state  should 
open  local  exchanges  at  all  important  industrial  or  agricultural 
centers,  except  where  this  has  already  been  done  by  the  local 
authorities. 

As  already  shown,  twenty-one  states  have  made  provision  for  local 
exchanges. 

(2)  CO-OPERATION  WITH  LOCAL  AUTHORITIES.    Wherever  it  is 
possible,   the    state   system    should    co-operate   with    the    local 
authorities  in  establishing  and  conducting  the  local  exchange. 

In  Wisconsin  the  cities  pay  for  office  space,  heat,  light,  telephone 
and  janitor  service;  the  state  pays  for  supplies,  salaries  and  administra- 
tive expenses.  In  Cleveland  and  in  Cincinnati,  O.,  also,  the  city  and 
state  share  in  the  expense. 

(3)  REGULATION  OF  PRIVATE  EXCHANGES.    Except,  perhaps,  in 
the  largest  cities,  needful  supervision  and  regulation  of  private 
exchanges  are  best  carried  on  by  state  authorities  closely  con- 
nected with  the  public  system.    Methods  of  regulation  include: 

a.  Licensing  and  inspection. 

b.  Use  of  license  fees  to  enforce  regulations. 

c.  Making    appropriate   administrative    rules    for    private    agencies 
after  classifying  them  according  to  type. 

d.  Prescribing    forms    for    records,    uniform    with    those    used    at 
public  offices. 

e.  Publishing  information  of  the  work  of  private  offices  together 
with  that  of  the  public  bureau. 

Private  agencies  are  supervised  by  the  same  administrative 
body  which  conducts  public  labor  exchanges  in  Colorado,  Con- 
necticut, Illinois,  Indiana,  Kansas,  Michigan,  Missouri,  New  York, 
Ohio,  Oklahoma  and  Wisconsin. 


Practical  Program  181 

(4)  STATISTICS.    As  a  basis  for  future  preventive  action,  for 
vocational   guidance,   and   for   other   purposes,   the   exchanges 
should  carefully  collect  data,  comparable  from  year  to  year  and 
for  the  various  sections  of  the  state,  on  the  amount  and  duration 
of  unemployment,  the  ages  and  occupations  of  those  affected, 
the  causes,  and  on  other  points  which  will  suggest  themselves. 

Detailed  statistics  of  this  nature  are  available  through  the  British 
labor  exchange  system,  through  which  the  national  unemployment 
insurance  benefits  are  also  paid. 

(5)  BULLETINS.     Periodical  bulletins  should  be  issued,  show- 
ing the  state  of  the  demand  for  labor  and  the  supply  in  the 
various  districts  and  industries  within  their  field. 

Monthly  news  letters  are  issued  by  the  Massachusetts  public 
exchanges,  and  similar  bulletins  are  provided  for  in  the  New  York 
State  law. 

3.  Federal  Employment  Bureau.  The  federal  employment 
bureau  would  have  a  valuable  function  in  co-ordinating  the  work 
of  the  local  bureaus  and  in  organizing  the  labor  market  on  a 
national  basis.  Such  a  federal  system  would  have  the  following 
functions : 

(1)  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  PUBLIC  EXCHANGES.     With  careful 
regard  to  existing  state  and  municipal  exchanges,  the  federal 
bureau  might  find  it  advantageous  to  open  offices  of  its  own 
where  needed. 

(2)  ASSISTANCE  TO  LOCAL  BUREAUS.     Among  the  means  by 
which  the  federal  bureau  could  assist  the  work  of  the  local 
exchanges  are : 

a.  Interchange     of     Information.    A     systematic     interchange     of 
information    on   the    state   of   the   labor   market    should   be    developed 
through  close  correspondence,   the   issuance  of   periodical  reports  and, 
where  advisable,  the  use  of  telegraph  and  telephone. 

b.  Standard  Record  System.    A  standard  system  of  records  should 
be   devised   and    adopted    for   the   whole    country   which    would    make 
possible    comparison    of    results    and    compilation    of    statistics    on    a 
national  basis. 

c.  District  Clearing  Houses.    The  country  should  be  divided  into 
districts,  with  a  clearing  house  in  each.     The  district  clearing  houses 
would : 


182  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

(a)  Exchange  information  between  local  bureaus  and  district 
branches  of  the  federal  bureau. 

(fc)  Receive  reports  of  local  public  and  private  agencies,  and  advise 
and  supervise  these  agencies. 

Great  Britain,  with  an  area  only  one  twenty-fifth  as  vast  as 
ours,  has  been  divided  for  the  purpose  of  administering  its  employ- 
ment bureau  system  into  eight  divisions,  each  with  its  divisional 
office  as  a  clearing  house  and  channel  of  communication  with  the 
central  office  in  London, 

(3)  REGULATION  OF  PRIVATE  AGENCIES.  In  so  far  as  private 
employment  agencies  do  an  interstate  business  they  are  properly 
subject  to  federal  supervision  and  regulation  under  the  inter- 
state commerce  clause  of  the  federal  constitution.  Complete 
regulation  might  be  secured  through  the  use  of  the  federal  tax- 
ing power. 

II.  SYSTEMATIC  DISTRIBUTION  OF  PUBLIC 
WORK.  A  well  developed  system  of  labor  exchanges  will  not, 
of  course,  create  jobs,  but  in  addition  to  bringing  the  jobless 
workers  quickly  and  smoothly  in  contact  with  such  opportunities 
as  exist,  it  will  register  the  rise  and  fall  in  the  demand  for  labor. 
This  knowledge  will  make  possible  intelligent  action  for  the 
prevention  and  relief  of  unemployment  through  the  systematic 
distribution  of  public  work  and  the  pushing  of  necessary  pro- 
jects when  private  industry's  demand  for  labor  is  at  a  low 
level.  Public  work  will  then  act  as  a  sponge,  absorbing  the 
reserves  of  labor  in  bad  years  and  slack  seasons,  and  setting 
them  free  again  when  the  demand  for  them  increases  in  private 
business. 

1.  Adjustment  of  Regular  Work.  Even  at  slightly  addi- 
tional cost  regular  public  work  should  be  conducted  in  years  of 
depression  and  seasons  of  depression.  A  program  of  the  amount 
of  public  work  contemplated  for  several  years  in  advance  should 
be  laid  out  and  then  carefully  planned  to  be  pushed  ahead  in 
the  lean  years  which  experience  has  shown  to  recur  periodically, 
and  in  the  months  when  private  employment  is  at  a  low  ebb. 
European  experience  shows  that  it  is  essential  to  the  success 
of  such  a  program  that  the  work  be  done  in  the  ordinary  way, 
the  workers  being  employed  at  the  standard  wage  and  under 
the  usual  working  conditions  and  hired  on  the  basis  of  efficiency, 


Practical  Program  183 

not  merely  because  they  happen  to  be  unemployed.  This 
method  of  equalizing  the  demand  for  labor  is  the  easiest  and 
cheapest  way  of  maintaining  the  reserves  which  private  in- 
dustry demands.  The  independence  and  self-respect  of  the 
workers  are  preserved,  while  necessary  and  productive  work  is 
accomplished  for  the  community. 

The  English  statistician  Bowley  estimates  that  if  in  the  United 
Kingdom  a  fund  were  set  aside  for  public  work  to  be  pushed  in  times 
of  depression,  an  average  of  $20,000,000  yearly,  or  only  3  per  cent  of 
the  annual  appropriation  for  public  works  and  services,  would  be 
sufficient  to  balance  the  wage  loss  from  commercial  depression. 

Duluth,  Minn.,  has  adopted  the  policy  of  building  sewers  through- 
out the  winter  in  order  to  equalize  the  amount  of  employment.  Detroit 
has  found  the  diggmg  of  sewers  in  frozen  ground  no  more  expensive 
than  under  the  blazing  summer  sun. 


2.  Emergency  Work.  In  communities  which  have  not 
yet  developed  such  a  program,  or  in  times  of  special  emergency, 
it  is  a  much  wiser  policy  to  start  large  projects  for  public  works 
than  to  support  the  unemployed  through  private  charity  or 
public  relief.  This  should  not  be  "relief  work"  or  "made  work" 
simply  to  keep  idle  hands  busy,  but  should  be  necessary  public 
work  which  would  have  been  undertaken  normally  in  the  course 
of  time,  but  which  can  be  concentrated  in  the  time  of  emergency. 

Over  fifty  American  cities  successfully  carried  on  such  work  during 
the  winter  of  1914-1915.  The  work  done  included  digging  sewers,  lay- 
ing water  mains,  improving  roads  and  parks,  erecting  school  houses, 
and  repairing  other  public  buildings. 

The  Idaho  legislature  of  1915  passed  an  act  establishing  the  right  of 
every  person  who  has  resided  in  the  state  for  six  months  to  ninety  days' 
public  work  a  year,  at  90  per  cent  of  the  usual  wage  if  married  or  having 
dependents,  otherwise  at  75  per  cent  of  the  usual  wage. 

For  women  and  girls,  and  for  men  unsuited  by  training  or  by 
physique  for  the  rougher  kinds  of  public  work,  the  Brooklyn  Committee 
on  Unemployment  recommended  the  establishment  in  vacant  loft  build- 
ings of  municipal  workshops  where  the  unemployed  of  these  classes 
could  manufacture  for  themselves  simple  clothing  and  household  utensils. 

In  England,  to  prevent  unemployment  during  the  war,  the  govern- 
ment appropriated  large  sums  to  help  the  local  authorities  in  building 
schools,  hospitals,  sanatoria,  workingmen's  houses,  street  railroads, 
improving  roads,  bridges  and  parks,  afforestation,  reclamation  of  waste 
lands  and  in  other  needed  public  improvements.  Workers  were  hired 
through  the  labor  exchanges  without  special  reference  to  their  non- 
employment  and  were  paid  standard  rates. 


184  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

III.  REGULARIZATION  OF  INDUSTRY.  Side  by  side 
with  the  movements  for  public  labor  exchanges  and  for  system- 
atic distribution  of  public  work  should  go  the  movement  for  the 
regularization  of  industry  itself,  through  the  combined  efforts 
of  employers,  employees  and  the  consuming  public. 

Regularization  is  demanded  by  the  interests  of  employer 
and  employee  alike.  The  employer,  with  an  expensive  plant, 
requires  steady  production  to  keep  down  overhead  expenses 
and  to  gain  his  greatest  profit;  the  employee  needs  steady  work 
to  prevent  destitution  and  demoralization. 

1.  Regularization  by  Employers.  In  the  regularization  of 
industry  a  large  responsibility  lies  directly  upon  employers  to 
regularize  their  own  businesses.  Every  attempt  should  be 
made  within  the  limits  of  each  business  to  make  every  job  a 
steady  job.  Sincere  efforts  in  this  direction  on  the  part  of  the 
employer  can  accomplish  much.  Among  the  things  which  he 
can  do  are: 

(1)  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  AN  EMPLOYMENT  DEPARTMENT.  The 
employer  should  establish,  as  part  of  his  organization,  an  em- 
ployment department,  having  at  its  head  an  employment  man- 
ager whose  special  duty  it  is  to  study  the  problems  of  unemploy- 
ment in  the  individual  shop  and  to  devise  ways  of  meeting 
them.  Such  a  department  would  aim  at : 

o.  Reduction  of  the  "Turnover"  of  Labor.  By  a  study  of  its 
causes  through  records  of  "hiring  and  firing,"  reduction  could  be  made 
in  the  "turnover"  of  labor  which  is  at  present  so  excessive  that  factories 
frequently  hire  and  discharge  1,000  men  in  a  year  to  keep  up  a  force 
of  300. 

b.  Reduction  of  Fluctuations  of  Employment  Inside  the  Shop. 
Among  the  methods  that  might  be  used  for  this  purpose  are: 

(o)  Systematic  transfer  of  workers  between  departments. 

A  Massachusetts  candy  factory  has  succeeded,  through  trans- 
ferring workers  between  departments,  in  overcoming  the  usual 
irregularity  of  the  industry  and  in  keeping  its  force  at  the  same 
level  throughout  the  year. 

(fe)  Employing  all  on  part  time  rather  than  laying  off  part  of  the 
force. 

This  policy  was  widely  recommended  in  the  winter  of  1914-1915, 
notably  by  the  unemployment  commissions  of  New  York  and 


Practical  Program  185 

Chicago,  and  by  the  chamber  of  commerce  of  Detroit.  A  large 
New  Hampshire  shoe  factory  employed  half  of  its  regular  force 
each  alternate  week  with  complete  success. 

(r)  Arranging  working  force  in  groups  and  keeping  higher  groups 
employed  continuously.  Those  in  lower  groups  will  then  be  encouraged 
to  keep  out  of  the  industry  altogether,  or  to  combine  it  with  some  other 
occupations  to  which  they  can  regularly  turn  in  the  dull  season. 

(rf)  Keeping  before  the  attention  of  the  rest  of  the  organization  the 
importance  of  regularizing  employment. 

Many  progressive  firms  are  now  engaging  the  services  of  employ- 
ment managers,  and  in  Boston  and  New  York  employment  managers' 
associations  have  been  formed  for  the  co-operative  study  of  their 
problems. 


(2)  REGULATION  OF  OUTPUT.  The  employer  should  regu- 
late his  output  and  distribute  it  as  evenly  as  possible  through- 
out the  year.  Methods  to  this  end  are: 

a.  Record  Keeping  and  Forward  Planning.    Yearly  curves  should 
be  kept,  showing  production,  sales  and  deliveries  day  by  day,  week  by 
week,  and  month  by  month;  and  an  effort  should  be  made  each  year 
to  level   the  curve  and   to   smooth  out  the  "peak  load."     Production 
should,  wken  possible,  be  planned  at  least  six  months  ahead. 

A  manufacturer  of  Christmas  novelties  keeps  production  regular 
throughout  the  year  by  sending  out  samples  and  booking  orders  one 
year  in  advance. 

b.  Building   Up  Slack  Season  Trade.    Special  instructions  should 
be    given    to    sales    departments    and    to    traveling    salesmen    to    urge 
customers  to  place  orders  for  delivery  during  the  slack  season.    Special 
advertising  also  stimulates  trade  in  dull  periods. 

Some  firms  threaten  delayed  delivery  on  goods  at  the  height 
of  the  season.  Many  firms  offer  especially  low  prices  in  the  dtdl 
season,  grant  special  discounts,  make  special  cheap  lines,  or  even 
do  business  without  a  profit  simply  to  keep  their  organization 
together  and  to  supply  work  for  their  forces.  The  mine  owners 
by  selling  anthracite  coal  50  cents  a  ton  cheaper  hi  April  than  in 
November  have  adjusted  its  sale  and  production  so  that  work  at 
the  mines  is  more  evenly  distributed  throughout  the  year. 

c.  Keeping  a  Stock  Department  and  Making  to  Stock  as  Liberally 
as  Possible  in  the  Slack  Season.    The  making  of  goods  to  stock  requires 
the  tying-up  of  a  certain  amount  of  capital,  but  many  employers  feel 
this  to  be  balanced  by  the  gain  in  contentment  among  the  workers  and 


1 86  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

the  increase  of  efficiency  and  txam  spirit  in  the  organization.  They 
have  the  further  advantage  of  bemg  able  to  supply  goods  immediately 
on  order. 

This  method  keeps  many  firms  busy.  It  is  more  difficult  in 
industries  where  goods  are  perishable  or  where  style  is  an  important 
factor,  as  in  garment  making  and  shoe  making,  but  even  here  there 
are  conspicuous  examples  of  its  success.  Other  manufacturers 
deliberately  follow  a  conservative  style  policy,  or  concentrate  the 
making  of  staple  styles  in  the  slack  season. 

d.  "Going  After"  Steady  Rather  Than  Speculative  Business.    Well 
organized  business  with  a  steady  demand  and  a  regular  and  sure  profit 
can  afford   to   dispense  with   the   irregular  and   unreliable   gains  of   a 
speculative  business  which  often  involve  disorganization  and  irregularity 
of  production. 

e.  Careful  Study   of  Market   Conditions  and  Adjustment   of  the 
Business  to  Take  Advantage  of  Them.    A  broad  market  provides  more 
regular  business  than  a  narrow  one.    Foreign  trade  supplements  domestic 
trade,  and  orders  often  arrive  from  southern  and  far  western  markets 
when  the  eastern  market  is  slack.    A  diversity  of  customers  will  usually 
provide  a  more  regular  demand  than  concentration  on  one  or  two  large 
buyers.     The  retail  trade  will  often  take  a  manufacturer's  goods  just 
when  the  wholesale  season  has  stopped. 

In  the  shoe  industry  the  ownership  of  chains  of  retail  stores 
has  enabled  some  manufacturers  to  regularize  their  business  con- 
siderably, and  a  garment  manufacturer  who  owns  his  own  retail 
store  is  able  to  stock  that  just  as  soon  as  his  wholesale  orders 
run  slack. 

/.  Developing  New  Lines  and  Complementary  Industries.  A  diver- 
sity of  products  will  often  help  to  regularize  a  business.  Many  manu- 
facturers study  their  plant,  the  nature  of  their  material  and  the  character 
of  the  market  to  see  whether  they  cannot  add  new  lines  to  supplement 
those  they  have  and  fill  in  business  in  the  slack  seasons. 

One  rubber  shoe  manufacturer,  for  example,  adds  rubber  sheet- 
ing, rubber  heels,  tennis  shoes,  rubber  cloth  and  rubber  tires,  and 
achieves  a  fairly  regular  business. 

g.  Overcoming  Weather  Conditions.  Special  refrigerating,  heat- 
ing, moistening,  drying  or  other  apparatus  proves  effective  in  many 
industries  in  enabling  operations  to  be  continued  even  in  unfavorable 
weather.  Even  in  the  building  trade  the  amount  of  winter  work  can  be 
increased  by  provision  for  covering  or  enclosing  and  heating  work 
under  construction. 

Brick  making  has  been  made  a  regular  twelve  months'  industry 
instead  of  a  seasonal  six  months'  industry  by  the  introduction  of 
artificial  drying. 


•    Practical  Program  187 

(3)  CO-OPERATION  WITH  OTHER  EMPLOYERS.  Employers  could 
by  collective  action  do  much  to  diminish  the  extent  of  unemploy- 
ment and  to  abolish  trade  abuses  which  lead  to  it.  For  instance, 
they  could  co-operate  to: 

a.  Arrange  for  Interchange  of  Workers.    A  number  of  employers 
in  the  same  or  in  related  industries  could  arrange  to  take  their  labor 
from  a  central  source  and  to  transfer  workers  between  establishments 
according  to  the  respective  fluctuations  in  business.    This  would  prevent 
the   wasteful    system   of    maintaining   a   separate   reserve   of   labor   for 
each  plant.     The  best  agency  .for  effecting  this  transfer  is,  of  course, 
the  public  labor  exchange. 

The  building  trades  employers  of  Boston  have  agreed  to  hire 
all  their  labor  from  one  central  source.  The  result  is  that  the 
workmen  are  directed  without  delay  from  one  employer  to  another 
and  secure  much  more  regular  work. 

b.  Provide  Diversity   of  Industries.    Through   chambers   of   com- 
merce or   similar  organizations  an  effort   should  be  made  to   provide 
communities   with   diversified   industries   whose   slack   seasons   come  at 
different  times,  so  as  to  facilitate  dovetailing  of  employments. 

C.  Prevent  Development  of  Plant  and  Machinery  Far  Beyond 
Normal  Demand.  An  installation  of  equipment,  the  capacity  of  which 
is  far  in  excess  of  orders  normally  to  be  expected,  is  not  only  a 
financial  burden,  but  it  is  a  continual  inducement  toward  rush  orders 
and  irregular  operation. 

In  some  industries  this  unhealthy  tendency  is  counteracted  by 
the  distribution  of  excessive  orders  among  other  firms  whose  busi- 
ness is  slack. 

d.  Prevent  Disorganisation  of  Production  Due  to  Cut-Throat 
Competition.  Agreements  can  in  some  cases  be  made  to  restrict  extreme 
styles  and  other  excessively  competitive  factors  which  serve  to  dis- 
organize production. 

A  shoe  manufacturers'  association  has  successfully  carried  out 
agreements  fixing  the  styles  they  will  manufacture  during  the 
season. 


(4)  CO-OPERATION  WITH  OTHER  EFFORTS  TO  REGULARIZE  EM- 
PLOYMENT. Employers  should  co-operate  with  all  other  efforts 
put  forth  in  the  community  to  regularize  employment,  especially 
with  the  public  employment  exchanges.  Employers  should 
make  a  special  point  of  securing  as  much  of  their  help  as  pos- 
sible from  these  exchanges. 


i88  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

2.  Regularization  by  the  Workers.     The  workers  them- 
selves have  a  special  opportunity  and  responsibility  in  the  cam- 
paign against  unemployment.     There  is  a  growing  realization 
among  them  that  regularity  of  employment  is  as  important  to 
the  worker  as  a  fair  wage,  and  that  poor  employment  lowers 
the  standard  of  life  as  much  as  if  not  more  than  poor  wages. 
There  are  evidences  that  they  no  longer  feel  resigned  to  un- 
employment as  a  necessary  and  inevitable  consequence  of  the 
industrial  organization,  that  they  are  expressing  their  indigna- 
tion at  the  distress  so  caused,  and  are  seeking  means  of  relief. 
As    measures    against    unemployment    individually    and    through 
their  organizations  they  should : 

(1)  SUPPORT  THE  GENERAL  PROGRAM  HERE  OUTLINED.    Parts 
especially  recommending  themselves  for  support  by  the  workers 
are: 

a.  Establishment   of    the   principle   of    elasticity   of   working   time 
rather  than  elasticity  of  working  force.    Double  pay  should  be  enforced 
for   overtime,   however,   thus   compelling   the   employer   to    spread   out 
production  more  evenly  through  the  year. 

When  part  of  the  mines  in  a  community  shut  down  the  organ- 
ized workers  in  the  other  mines  frequently  divide  their  work  with 
the  men  thrown  out. 

b.  Encouragement  of  public  employment  exchanges  as  the  recog- 
nized agency  for  securing  employment  and  for  registering  unemploy- 
ment statistics. 

c.  Systematic     distribution     of     public     work    and     provision     of 
emergency  work. 

d.  Public  unemployment  insurance. 

e.  Foundation  of   a  thorough   system   of  economic  education  and 
industrial  training. 

(2)  PLACE  LESS  INSISTENCE  ON  STRONG  DEMARCATIONS  BE- 
TWEEN THE  TRADES.     This  would  make  possible  the  keeping  of 
reserves  for  the  industry  as  a  whole  rather  than  as  at  present 
for  each  separate  trade,  for  each  shop,  and  even  for  each  separate 
operation  within  the  shop.     It  would  also  permit  a  more  compre- 
hensive program  of  industrial  education. 

3.  Regularization  by  Consumers.     Consumers  should  ar- 
range their  orders  and  purchases  to  assist  in  the  regularization 


Practical  Program  1^9 

of  production  and  employment.  The  principle  of  "shop  early," 
which  has  proven  useful  in  diminishing  the  Christmas  rush, 
should  be  extended.  Employers  could  do  much  more  toward 
regularizing  their  output  if  consumers  were  more  responsive 
to  solicitations  to  buy  in  the  slack  season.  Such  requests  are 
often  sent  out  by  employers,  and  too  generally  ignored  by  con- 
sumers. Much  irregularity  is  also  caused  by  sudden,  heavy 
orders  and  by  rush  orders.  A  determination  to  exercise  fore- 
sight and  consideration  in  these  matters  on  the  part  not  only 
of  the  ultimate  consumer  but  of  large  wholesalers  and  dealers 
whose  demands  on  the  manufacturer  are  often  capricious  and 
unreasonable,  would  also  assist.  The  slogan  of  the  consumer 
should  become  "Shop  regularly!" 

IV.  UNEMPLOYMENT  INSURANCE.  The  final  link, 
which  unites  into  a  practical  program  the  four  main  methods 
for  the  prevention  of  unemployment,  is  insurance.  Just  as  work- 
men's compensation  has  already  resulted  in  the  nation-wide 
movement  for  "safety  first,"  and  just  as  health  insurance  will 
furnish  the  working  basis  for  a  similar  movement  for  the  con- 
servation of  the  national  health,  so  the  "co-operative  pressure" 
exerted  by  unemployment  insurance  can  and  should  be  utilized 
for  the  prevention  of  unemployment.  For  although  much  regu- 
larization  of  industry  can  be  accomplished  through  the  voluntary 
efforts  lof  enlightened  employers,  there  is  also  needed  that 
powerful  element  of  social  compulsion  which  can  be  exerted 
through  the  constant  financial  pressure  of  a  carefully  adjusted 
system  of  insurance.  The  adjustment  of  insurance  rates  to  the 
employment  experience  of  the  various  industries,  and  then  the 
further  adjustment  of  costs  to  fit  the  practices  of  individual 
trades  and  establishments  even  within  given  industries,  is  well 
within  the  range  of  possibility. 

To  be  regarded  as  secondary  to  this  function  of  regulari- 
zation  is  the  important  provision  of  unemployment  insurance 
for  the  maintenance,  through  out-of-work  benefits,  of  those  re- 
serves of  labor  which  may  still  be  necessary  to  meet  the  unpre- 
vented  fluctuations  of  industry.  The  financial  burden  of  this 
maintenance  should  properly  fall  on  the  industry  (employers  and 
workers  as  a  whole)  and  upon  the  consuming  public,  rather 
than  upon  the  fraction  of  the  workers  who  are  in  no  way  respon- 


190  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

sible  for  industrial  fluctuations  and  who  are  as  essential,  even 
in  their  periods  of  unemployment,  to  the  well-being  of  industry 
as  are  the  reserves  of  an  army.  Furthermore,  it  is  as  important 
for  industry  as  for  the  workers  themselves  that  their  character 
and  physique  be  preserved  during  periods  of  unemployment  so 
that  they  may,  when  called  for,  return  to  industry  with  unim- 
paired efficiency,  and  may  be  preserved  from  dropping  into  the 
ranks  of  the  unemployable  where  they  will  constitute  a  much 
more  serious  problem. 

Some  form  of  unemployment  insurance  exists  in  most  of  the 
countries  of  Europe.  Three  methods  of  insurance,  which  can  be  either 
combined  or  organized  independently,  have  been  developed: 

1.  Organization  of  Out-of-Work  Benefits  by  Trade  Unions. 
This  method  has  proven  successful  to  some  extent  in  Europe 
and  has  been  used  to  a  limited  degree  in  the  United  States. 

The  Cigar  Makers'  International  Union  of  America  has  had  a 
successful  system  of  out-of-work  benefits  since  1890.  In  1912  it  paid 
out  $42,911.05  in  out-of-work  benefits,  at  a  cost  of  $1.06  per  member. 

2.  Public  Subsidies  to  Trade  Union  Out-of-Work  Benefits. 
As   the   "Ghent  System,"   invented   by   Dr.   Varlez,   the   inter- 
national secretary  of  the  Association  on  Unemployment,  this 
method  of  administering  unemployment  insurance  has  become 
well  known  throughout  western  Europe. 

Approximately  600,000  workers  in  Great  Britain,  111,000  in  Denmark, 
103,000  in  Belgium,  29,000  in  Holland,  and  27,000  in  Norway  were,  on 
January  1,  1914,  insured  against  unemployment  under  this  system,  which 
was  also  in  operation  in  Luxemburg,  certain  cities  of  France  and  Italy, 
and  in  certain  cantons  of  Switzerland. 

3.  Public   Unemployment   Insurance.      In   this   employers, 
workers  and  the  state  should  become  joint  contributors.     Such 
a  system  should  be  carried  on  in  close  connection  with  the  labor 
exchanges,  for  the  exchanges  furnish,  particularly  when  their 
knowledge  of  opportunities  for  private  employment  is  supple- 
mented by  an  intelligent  adjustment  of  public  works,  the  best 
possible  "work  test"  for  the  unemployed  applicant  for  insurance 
benefits.    Possible  abuses  of  the  insurance  system  may  thus  be 
thwarted.      During   the   process   both    employers   and   workers 
learn  to  make  use  of  the  exchanges  as  centers  of  information 
and  thereby  help  to  organize  the  labor  market.    And  of  crown- 


Practical  Program  191 

ing  importance  in  the  movement  toward  regularization  of  indus- 
try is  the  careful  development  of  this  form  of  insurance  with 
its  continuous  pressure  toward  the  prevention  of  unemploy- 
ment. 

Compulsory  nation-wide  insurance  against  unemployment  is  found 
in  Great  Britain,  where  a  law  providing  insurance  for  2,500,000  wage- 
earners  in  six  selected  industries  went  into  effect  on  July  15,  1912.  The 
successful  working  of  the  system  points  toward  its  early  extension. 
Employer  and  employee  each  pay  5  cents  weekly,  payments  being 
made,  as  with  health  insurance,  through  fixing  stamps  in  a  book,  and  a 
state  subsidy  is  added  amounting  to  one-third  of  the  annual  receipts 
from  dues.  The  annual  income  has  been  approximately  $11,500,000,  and 
$2,488,625  were  paid  out  to  about  1,000,000  cases  during  the  year  ending 
January  16,  1914.  The  large  reserve  fund  which  is  accumulating  is 
expected  to  meet  the  drain  of  future  hard  times.  The  workman  may 
receive  a  cash  benefit  from  the  second  to  the  sixteenth  week  of  unem- 
ployment in  each  year,  under  the  following  conditions:  (1)  He  must 
have  worked  in  one  of  the  selected  occupations  at  least  twenty-six! 
weeks  in  each  of  the  preceding  three  years;  (2)  his  unemployment  must 
not  be  caused  by  a  strike  or  by  his  own  fault;  (3)  he  must  accept  work 
of  equal  value  if  found  for  him  by  the  labor  exchange.  Less  than  2. 
per  cent  of  all  the  cases  have  been  found  to  be  still  out  of  work  at  the 
end  of  the  sixteenth  week. 

In  advance  of  the  careful  grading  of  industries  according  to  the 
degree  of  irregularity  of  employment,  this  British  system  offers  financial 
inducements  to  employers  to  keep  their  working  force  regularly 
employed.  An  annual  refund  of  75  cents  is  made  for  each  of  their 
workers  who  has  been  employed  forty-five  weeks  during  the  year. 
Moreover,  an  ingenious  provision  of  the  law  entitles  any  work- 
man over  sixty  years  of  age  who  has  been  insured  more  than  ten  years 
and  who  has  paid  more  than  500  weekly  contributions  to  a  refund  of 
his  total  payments  minus  his  total  benefits,  with  compound  interest  at 
2*4  per  cent.  This  provision  is  intended  to  commend  the  system  to  the 
especially  skilled  and  trusty  workmen  who  runs  little  risk  of  losing 
his  job. 


OTHER  HELPFUL  MEASURES 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  measures,  which  are  directly 
aimed  at  the  prevention  of  unemployment,  the  following  policies, 
initiated  primarily  for  a  variety  of  other  social  purposes,  would 
also  prove  helpful: 

1.  Industrial  training,  both  of  young  people  and  of  adults, 
should  be  encouraged.  Every  advance  in  his  skill  strengthens 
the  hold  of  the  worker  upon  his  job,  and  a  wider  industrial 


ig2  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

training  makes  possible  for  him  adaptation  to  various  kinds 
of  work.  Children,  especially,  should  not  be  permitted  to  go  to 
work  without  sufficient  industrial  training  to  prevent  their  being 
used  as  casual  labor,  and  should  be  discouraged  from  entering 
"blind-alley"  employments  which  destroy  rather  than  develop 
industrial  ability.  For  those  who  go  to  work  early,  the  system 
of  continuation  schools,  now  found  in  many  states,  should  be  still 
further  developed.  The  idea,  also,  that  industrial  training  and 
education  are  not  feasible  for  the  adult  worker  should  be  abandoned, 

2.  An  agricultural  revival   should   be  promoted   to   make 
rural  life  more  attractive  and  to  keep  people  on  the  land. 

3.  A  constructive  immigration  policy,  concerned  with  both 
industrial  and  agricultural  aspects  of  the  problem,  should  be 
developed   for  the  proper  distribution  of  America's   enormous 
immigration. 

4.  Reducing  the  number  of  young  workers  by  excluding 
child  labor  up  to  16  years  of  age  and  restricting  the  hours  of 
young  people  under  18  would  lessen  the  number  of  the  unskilled. 

5.  Reduction   of   excessive   working   hours,    especially    in 
occupations  where  the  time  of  attendance  and  not  the  speed 
of  the  worker  is  the  essential  factor  (such  as  ticket  chopping 
and  'bus  driving)  would  increase  to  a  certain  extent  the  demand 
for  labor. 

6.  Constructive  care  of  the  unemployable,  who  are  them- 
selves largely  the  product  of  unemployment,  must  be  devised, 
with  the  aim  of  restoring  them,  whenever  possible,  to  normal 
working  life.     The  problem  of  these  persons  is  distinct  from 
that  of  the  capable  unemployed,  and   should  not  be  confused 
with    it.      For   the   different   groups    appropriate    treatment    is 
required,  including  (1)  adequate  health  insurance  for  the  sick, 
(2)  old  age  pensions  for  the  aged,  (3)  industrial  or  agricultural 
training  for  the  inefficient,   (4)   segregation  for  the  feebleminded,- 
and    (5)    penal   farm   colonies   for  the   "won't   works"   and   semi- 
criminal. 


II 

UNEMPLOYMENT  PROBLEMS 


Presiding  Officer:  JOHN  B.  ANDREWS 

Secretary,  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation 

NEW  YORK  CITY 


PUBLIC  EMPLOYMENT  BUREAUS— ORGANIZATION 
AND  OPERATION 


CHARLES  B.  BARNES 
Director,  Nezv  York  State  Bureau  of  Employment 


There  is  just  -now  a  great  deal  of  discussion  concerning  unemploy- 
ment in  this  country.  Mayors'  committees  and  church  committees 
have  been  appointed  in  different  cities  to  take  up  the  question.  These 
committees  will  discuss  the  industrial  outlook,  they  will  collect  money 
which  will  be  disbursed  for  the  relief  of  an  acute  situation.  Then, 
as  warm  weather  approaches,  or  if  business  activity  returns  to  a  nor- 
mal state,  these  committees  will  dissolve  and  the  matter  will  be  left 
to  take  care  of  itself  until  there  is  another  financial  depression  or 
a  very  cold  winter. 

Such  temporary  committees  may  help  to  mitigate  some  of  the  dis- 
tress resulting  from  unemployment,  but  they  neither  relieve  unem- 
ployment itself  nor  do  their  investigations  bring  us  any  nearer  to 
an  understanding  of  its  causes. 

Unemployment  is  no  longer  intermittent  in  this  country;  it  has 
come  to  be  a  chronic  condition  which  needs  to  be  dealt  with  in  a 
regular  and  systematic  manner.  The  first  step  in  properly  dealing 
with  this  situation  is  the  establishing  of  a  series  of  cooperating  pub- 
lice  employment  bureaus.  These  bureaus,  through  their  body  of 
trained  workers,  can  accomplish  two  things :  First,  they  can  bring 
together  quickly  and  efficiently  the  unemployed  workers  and  such 
jobs  as  are  to  be  filled.  Secondly,  in  doing  this  they  will  gather  a 
great  deal  of  information  about  industries  and  workers  which  will 
show  the  real  causes  of  unemployment  and  point  the  way  to  some 
of  its  remedies. 

There  are  many  indications  of  a  growing  interest  in  the  subject 
of  public  employment  offices.  Already  two  bills  on  this  subject  are 
before  Congress.  In  addition,  the  United  States  Commission  on 
Industrial  Relations  issued,  about  a  year  ago,  a  tentative  plan  for 
federal  employment  bureaus,  and  made  a  study  of  the  different  state 


196  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

employment  offices  at  present  existing.  This  study  led  them  in  their 
first  report,  given  out  early  this  month,  to  emphasize  the  need  for 
a  national  bureau  of  employment  in  connection  with  the  Department 
of  Labor,  which  would  cooperate  with  state  and  municipal  employ- 
ment offices,  which  would  regulate  private  employment  agencies, 
and  which  would  establish  clearing  houses  for  industrial  information, 
thus  uniting  all  labor  exchanges  into  one  national  system.  This  re- 
port refers  to  the  imperative  necessity  of  organizing  a  market  for 
labor  on  a  modern  business  basis  "so  that  there  will  be  no  vacant 
jobs  and  idle  workers  in  the  same  community  at  the  same  time." 
The  growing  demand  for  governmental  action  on  this  question  has 
led  state  after  state  to  pass  public  employment  office  laws,  until  there 
are  now  twenty-one  states  having  such  laws.  In  addition,  cities  in 
seven  states  have  established  municipal  bureaus.  These  last  bureaus 
are  supported  by  the  cities  themselves.  The  superintendents  and 
others  connected  with  all  these  offices  have  formed  themselves  into 
an  organization  entitled  the  American  Association  of  Public  Em- 
ployment Offices,  which  has  already  held  its  second  annual  meeting. 
This  association  is  making  a  real  effort  to  find  ways  for  improve- 
ment in  the  methods  of  conducting  public  employment  offices. 

The  writer  personally  made  a  large  part  of  the  investigation  for 
the  United  States  Industrial  Relations  Commission.  In  doing  this 
he  visited  the  public  employment  offices  in  nearly  all  the  important 
states.  It  was  found  that  with  a  few  exceptions  these  offices  were 
doing  poor  work.  This  was  not  because  of  any  weakness  inherent 
in  the  system  itself.  It  had  resulted  largely  from  poor  management 
and  insufficient  appropriations.  On  account  of  the  many  sins  of 
the  private  agencies  the  public  generally  has  come  to  have  rather  a 
low  regard  for  all  employment  offices.  This  has  led  to  the  belief 
that  anybody  can  run  an  employment  office ;  that  it  requires  neither 
character  nor  any  special  ability.  Only  three  of  the  ten  states  visited 
had  civil  service.  In  all  the  others  the  superintendents  and  other 
employees  were  selected  on  account  of  their  politics.  Political  ap- 
pointments are  not  necessarily  bad,  but  in  this  case,  on  account  of 
the  poor  opinion  held  of  the  work,  and  the  misconception  of  its  im- 
portance, the  appointments  were  made  with  little  or  no  regard  for 
the  fitness  of  the  appointees  for  the  place.  The  same  misconception 
of  the  real  function  of  the  offices  caused  insufficient  appropriations. 
Generally  a  fairly  decent  salary  was  allowed  the  superintendent,  but 


Public  Employment  Bureaus — Organisation  and  Operation  197 

very  little  was  appropriated  for  clerical  help  or  for  the  general  ex- 
penses of  the  office.  In  the  endeavor  to  make  such  a  showing  as 
would  lead  to  larger  appropriations,  inaccurate  and  often  misleading 
statistics  were  given  out. 

That  there  is  an  increase  of  knowledge,  however,  concerning  this 
work,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  a  few  places  the  offices  are  being 
placed  under  civil  service,  and  in  several  instances  this  has  led  to 
very  rapid  improvement.  The  office  in  Boston  has  for  many  years 
been  under  civil  service,  and  is  considered  the  best  in  the  country. 
The  offices  in  Wisconsin  are  also  under  the  merit  system,  and  since 
Ohio  has  had  an  industrial  commission,  which  was  appointed  a  little 
over  a  year  ago,  the  offices  in  that  state  have  been  placed  under  civil 
service.  New  York  has  passed  a  public  employment  office  law.  The 
offices  established  under  this  act  are  conducted  by  civil  service 
appointees. 

There  is  a  general  misunderstanding  on  the  part  of  the  public 
regarding  the  real  work  of  public  employment  offices  and  what  can 
be  accomplished  by  them.  Many  people  conceive  vaguely  that  the 
establishment  of  these  offices  means  in  some  way  an  increase  in 
employment.  Others,  and  especially  social  workers,  regard  public 
employment  offices  as  a  convenient  dumping  ground  for  all  the 
unemployable  and  near-unemployable  people  with  whom  they  are 
compelled  to  deal.  This  has  often  given  these  bureaus  the  taint 
of  charity,  particularly  since  many  charitable  organizations  maintain 
their  own  "free  employment  offices."  This  odium  has  lost  public 
employment  offices  the  patronage  of  efficient  workers  and  well-pay- 
ing employers. 

There  is  a  real  need  and  an  important  field  for  these  offices,  and 
their  best  work  can  only  be  accomplished  after  the  public  is  educated 
to  understand  this  need  and  this  importance. 

A  man  seeking  work  to-day  finds  many  avenues  through  which 
to  go.  The  most  common  way  is  to  apply  at  the  actual  place  of 
work.  This  means  tramping  the  streets  of  the  city,  or  riding  to 
many  parts  of  the  community  where  work  is  going  on.  Or  the  man 
may  answer  an  ad.  in  the  newspapers  and  find  himself  in  the  com- 
pany of  hundreds  of  other  applicants.  Or  he  may  insert  an  ad. 
in  some  newspaper  and  go  the  weary  round  in  answer  to  the  replies. 
If  he  is  a  union  man  he  can  apply  to  the  headquarters  of  his  union. 
.If  he  is  a  non-union  man,  or  is  not  opposed  to  working  in  an  open 


198  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

shop,  he  can  apply  to  the  employment  department  of  an  employers' 
association.  If  he  has  a  family  to  support  and  has  reached  the 
point  of  asking  charity  he  may  be  referred  to  the  employment  office 
of  some  charitable  association.  If  he  has  a  little  money  he  may 
go  to  a  private  employment  agency.  Here  he  may  be  charged  a 
registration  fee,  and  if,  after  some  delay,  he  is  finally  placed  in  a 
position,  he  may  be  made  to  pay  anywhere  from  5  to  20  per  cent 
of  his  first  month's  earnings. 

So  many  varied  ways  cause  a  scattering  of  energies  and  a  loss  of 
time  and  money,  not  only  to  the  employee  and  employer,  but  to 
society  as  a  whole.  Some  method  which  will  save  the  time  of  the 
employer  and  the  employee  must  be  devised,  and  this  method  must 
be  comprehensive  enough  not  only  to  cover  all  the  field,  but  to  do 
it  with  the  smallest  possible  expenditure  of  time  and  money.  For 
this  purpose  a  cooperating  system  of  public  employment  offices  must 
be  created. 

It  will  have,  however,  to  be  clearly  recognized  that  these  employ- 
ment offices  in  themselves  do  not  and  cannot  create  jobs.  They  seek 
only  to  minimize  the  number  of  persons  fruitlessly  searching  for 
work  and  to  bring  employer  and  employee  more  quickly  together.  It 
is,  nevertheless,  true  that  as  these  public  offices  grow,  and  more  and 
more  cover  the  field,  they  in  time  will  (through  the  information 
which  they  are  gathering),  be  able  to  devise  a  method — by  legislation 
if  necessary — whereby  the  worst  effects  of  seasonal  and  cyclical 
variations  in  the  labor  market  can  be  avoided,  and  labor  properly 
shifted  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another  in  compliance  with 
a  real  demand  for  such  shifting.  Thereby  the  number  of  casual 
laborers  will  be  decreased,  and  year-round  employment  made  less  a 
matter  of  chance  and  "luck." 

Further,  we  can  look  forward  to  the  time  when  these  offices  will 
be  so  firmly  established  in  the  confidence  of  employers  as  well  as 
of  employees,  that  they  can  have  a  special  department  for  the  pur- 
pose of  disposing  of  the  large  fringe  of  casual  laborers  which  at 
the  present  time  they  are  not  fitted  to  handle,  and  which  must  for 
a  while  be  left  to  the  disposition  of  organized  charity. 

Too  much  must  not  be  expected  from  newly  established  offices. 
In  the  first  place  it  must  be  understood  that  there  are  at  present  very 
few  trained  workers  in  this  field,  and  one  of  the  benefits  of  establish- 
ing offices  will  be  the  training  of  a  set  of  workers  who  will  eventually 


Public  Employment  Bureaus — Organisation  and  Operation  199 

be  capable  of  dealing  adequately  with  the  question  of  unemployment 
—workers  who  come  in  contact  with  the  needs  of  industry  on  one 
hand  and  with  the  needs  of  applicants  for  positions  on  the  other. 
Then,  too,  these  offices  have  quite  a  task  before  them  in  establishing 
themselves  in  the  confidence  of  large  employers  of  labor,  especially 
of  employers  of  more  or  less  skilled  workers.  So  general  is  the 
belief  that  public  employment  offices  handle  only  the  poorer  grades 
of  labor  that  most  employers  refuse  to  seek  their  aid.  This  feeling, 
of  course,  brings  about  a  corresponding  disinclination  on  the  part 
of  efficient  workers  to  patronize  the  public  employment  offices. 

What  suggestions  can  be  made  to  a  state  desiring  to  establish  pub- 
lic employment  offices,  or  to  a  state  desiring  to  improve  offices  al- 
ready in  existence? 

The  first  thing  necessary  will  be  an  adequate  law  which  will  not 
enter  too  much  into  details,  but  which  will  specify  only  general  prin- 
ciples, leaving  details  to  be  worked  out  by  those  placed  in  charge 
of  the  bureau.  Such  a  law  will  call  for  flexible  salaries,  so  that  all 
employees  shall  have  the  incentive  of  an  increase  in  wages. 

Civil  service  for  all  the  office  employees  from  top  to  bottom  should 
be  required.  The  best  offices  in  the  country  to-day  are  those  which 
are  working  under  civil  service.  Present  civil  service  regulations 
and  methods,  however,  are  in  most  states  too  formal  and  inflexible. 
An  ideal  examination  for  public  employment  offices  should  above 
all  things  take  into  consideration  the  importance  of  personality  in 
selecting  superintendents  and  their  helpers.  Dealing  with  all  sorts 
of  people  requires  a  sympathy  and  understanding  and  a  tact  which 
is  not  possessed  by  many  otherwise  able  persons.  To  insure  the 
selection  of  properly  qualified  workers,  the  director,  whether  of 
state  or  national  bureaus,  should  always  be  a  member  of  the  examin- 
ing board. 

Strict  impartiality  should  be  maintained  as  between  employers  and 
employees,  especially  during  strikes  and  labor  disturbances.  The 
offices  should  be  so  conducted  that  neither  side  would  have  a  domin- 
ating influence.  Their  success  will  depend  on  the  friendship  of  en- 
ployers  and  of  organized  labor,  and  both  should  be  made  to  under- 
stand that  the  public  employment  office  is  a  common  meeting  ground. 

It  would  be  well  for  all  the  offices  to  have  advisory  committees. 
These  committees  should  have  equal  representation  from  the  ranks 
of  organized  labor  and  from  the  organizations  of  employers.  It 


20O  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

might  also  be  well  to  have  the  general  public  represented  through 
some  of  its  elected  officials. 

These  committees,  in  addition  to  their  main  function  of  securing 
impartiality  and  the  proper  running  of  the  offices,  should  also  be 
instrumental  in  helping  to  educate  the  general  public  into  a  higher 
regard  for  employment  offices. 

The  function  of  these  public  offices  is  second  only  in  importance  to 
that  of  the  public  school.  This  is  especially  true  where  such 
offices  attempt  to  give  juvenile  direction,  and  this  juvenile  direction 
will  in  time  come  to  be  a  large  part  of  their  work.  As  the  true  func- 
tion of  the  offices  becomes  generally  known  it  will  be  seen  that  suc- 
cessfully to  conduct  them  the  superintendents  and  others  connected 
with  the  work  must  have  required  of  them  the  same  intelligence  and 
the  same  training  as  is  now  required  of  those  who  conduct  our  public 
schools  and  colleges.  In  this  connection  it  might -be  well  to  call 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  word  "free"  should  be  eliminated  in 
all  references  to  public  employment  offices.  It  is  true  their  services 
are  freehand  so  also  are  the  services  of  the  public  schools.  We  have, 
however,  long  since  outgrown  the  use  of  the  term  "free"  in  con- 
nection with  public  schools.  Why  should  we  still  retain  it  in  refer- 
ring to  public  employment  offices? 

While  the  establishing  of  public  employment  offices  is  a  part  of 
the  duty  of  the  state  (and  in  time  may  become  the  duty  of  the  federal 
government),  yet  at  the  same  time,  offices  can  be  better  conducted 
if  there  is  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  city  in  which  such  offices 
are  opened.  Where  the  city  has  a  financial  interest  in  the  public 
offices  there  is  more  likelihood  of  a  hearty  local  interest  in  their 
success. 

Where  several  offices  are  established  in  one  state  they  should  have 
a  uniform  system  of  records,  and  a  uniform  system  of  reporting  to 
some  central  bureau.  The  amount  and  kind  of  statistics  furnished 
by  each  office  will  have  largely  to  depend  upon  the  number  of 
workers  allotted  to  it,  and  this  number  will,  of  course,  depend  upon 
the  amount  appropriated  for  the  entire  bureau.  At  the  very  least, 
however,  there  should  be  a  daily  report  from  each  office  of  the  num- 
ber of  applicants  for  work,  the  number  of  offers  of  positions  re- 
ceived from  employers,  the  number  of  applicants  referred  to  positions 
and  the  number  of  notifications  received  that  positions  were  actually 
filled. 


Public  Employment  Bureaus — Organisation  and  Operation  201 

All  offices  should  have  at  least  two  main  divisions,  one  for  men 
and  one  for  women.  Where  the  number  of  office  employees  justifies 
it,  there  should  be  a  further  division  into  skilled  and  unskilled,  and 
as  the  office  grows  larger  there  should  be  a  still  further  division  into 
mechanical,  clerical,  and  the  like.  When  an  office  has  reached  the 
i point  of  being  able  to  have  its  work  thus  divided  up  it  will  be  possible 
to  bring  into  existence  the  department  already  mentioned-^the  one 
for  that  class  of  men  who  are  only  capable  of  doing  odd  jobs  or 
who  will  work  only  for  a  few  days  at  a  time. 

All  budgets  for  employment  offices  should  contain  an  item  for 
advertising.  The  amount  and' kind  will  have  to  be  decided  by  each 
superintendent.  The  private  agencies  find  it  profitable  to  advertise, 
and  some  of  the  best  public  offices  advertise  regularly  in  the  daily 
newspapers.  Then  too,  nearly  every  public  office  has  an  opportunity 
to  get  much  free  advertising.  Live  employment  offices  are  always 
a  good  source  of  news  from  the  daily  newspaper  standpoint,  and 
advantage  should  be  taken  of  this  to  keep  the  office  well  and  favor- 
ably known.  No  office  should  content  itself  with  sending  out  a  few 
cards  or  circulars  which  are  too  often  thrown  into  the  waste  basket. 

In  the  case  of  the  public  employment  office,  as  is  also  the  case  in 
so  many  other  businesses,  its  success  or  failure  will  largely  depend 
on  the  kind  of  man  selected  for  superintendent.  We  have  just 
pointed  out  that  he  should  be  a  man  as  high  in  intelligence  and  in 
character  as  the  man  we  select  to  conduct  our  public  schools.  Of 
course,  in  the  small  offices  the  superintendent  will  have  to  do  much 
of  the  detail  work,  but  even  here  he  should  arrange  certain  hours  for 
outside  work.  In  a  large  or  in  a  growing  office  he  should  be  almost 
free  from  the  detail  work.  He  should  spend  most  of  his  time  in 
visiting  manufacturing  plants  or  other  places  where  work  is  carried 
on.  He  should  get  well  acquainted  with  the  owners  and  the  fore- 
men. He  should  convince  them  that  he  means  to  deal  fairly  by 
everyone;  that  he  is  there  for  the  purpose  of  making  his  office  the 
place  in  that  city  to  which  any  and  all  can  turn  when  they  wish  to 
secure  help  or  to  get  a  position.  By  thus  getting  fully  acquainted 
with  all  the  work  of  his  community  he  would  come  to  know  the 
seasonal  character  and  varying  demands  of  the  labor  market  in  his 
jurisdiction,  and  could  to  a  certain  extent  prepare  his  office  to 
meet  impending  changes  in  this  labor  market.  It  should  be  the 
superintendent's  duty  to  see  that  his  subordinates  properly  fill  the 


2O2  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

orders  which  he  secures  from  employers,  and  to  know  something 
about  the  way  in  which  employers  treat  their  employees.  By  thus 
taking  a  vital  interest  not  only  in  the  worker  sent  to  a  position,  but 
also  in  the  needs  of  employers,  he  will  in  time  win  the  confidence 
and  good  will  of  both  sides.  An  active,  tactful  superintendent  by 
taking  note  will  find  many  ways  in  which  he  can  be  helpful  to  both 
employer  and  employee. 

As  a  final  word  on  this  subject  it  is  necessary  again  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  it  is  going  to  take  hard  work  and  a  long  time 
to  educate  the  public  to  a  knowledge  of  the  true  function  and  impor- 
tance of  public  employment  offices.  Ask  any  intelligent  man  in  the 
ordinary  walks  of  life  about  employment  offices  and  he  will  instantly 
confess  that  to  him  they  are  of  slight  importance— "They  do  not 
amount  to  much."  We  must  also  expect  the  opposition  of  private 
employment  agencies,  with  which  the  public  offices  will  inevitably 
come  in  competition.  Those  interested  in  public  employment  offices 
must,  both  in  season  and  out  of  season,  keep  bringing  before  the 
public  not  only  such  immediate  benefits  as  can  be  derived  from 
them,  but  also  the  wonderful  opportunity  they  offer  for  increasing 
the  efficiency  of  society  generally  through  the  ultimate  cooperation 
of  all  these  bureaus  throughout  the  country. 


JUVENILE  EMPLOYMENT  EXCHANGES 


ELSA  UELAND 
Gary,  Indiana 

Students  of  unemployment  everywhere  agree  that  the  first  absolute 
essential  of  any  program  attempting  to  deal  with  unemployment 
is  the  efficient  organization  of  the  labor  market  by  means  of  a 
system  of  labor  exchanges.  This  is  the  basis  of  nearly  all  the 
constructive  efforts  that  have  been  suggested  to  eliminate  unemploy- 
ment. It  is  the  basis  of  adjustments  between  industries  which  have 
opposite  busy  and  slack  seasons.  It  is  the  means  of  securing  the 
greatest  possible  mobility  of  labor.  Because  of  the  "work  test" 
which  it  makes  possible,  it  is  the  prerequisite  'for  any  scheme  of 
unemployment  insurance.  In  other  words,  the  organization  of 
labor  exchanges  is  the  necessary  first  step  in  our  fight  against 
unemployment. 

But  students  of  child  labor  are  conscious  of  the  "wasted  years 
between  fourteen  and  sixteen";  of  the  eagerness  of  children  to 
leave  school  as  early  as  the  fifth  and  sixth  grade  even  when  not 
forced  by  poverty  to  do  so;  and  of  the  dreary  "blind  alley"  jobs 
which  they  then  find  to  do.  They  are  conscious  of  the  lowering 
of  adult  wages  through  the  competition  of  child  labor;  of  the  con- 
stant recruiting  of  the  army  of  -the  unemployed  and  unemployable 
from  the  young  workers  who  are  turned  off  from  the  errand  jobs 
and  from  other  monotonous  factory  duties  which  new  and  younger 
and  cheaper  workers  can  undertake.  Such  students  of  child  labor 
are  'frankly  afraid  that  a  juvenile  employment  bureau  might  meas- 
ure its  efficiency,  as  an  adult  bureau  must,  by  the  number  and 
rapidity  of  its  placements.  They  see  the  danger  of  such  a  bureau's 
causing  children  to  leave  school  even  earlier  than  they  do  at  present. 

A  DILEMMA 

Here  then  is  the  dilemma.  How  can  the  juvenile  labor  exchange 
make  itself  an  efficient  member  of  the  whole  body  of  labor  exchange 


204  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

organization,  and  at  the  same  time  not  help  children  to  exploit  them- 
selves by  entering  industry  too  early?  The  policy  of  the  juvenile 
department  must  be  carefully  thought  out  indeed,  for  its  path  lies 
somewhere  between  a  futile  philanthropy  on  one  side,  which  seeks 
to  protect  young  workers  from  industry  as  it  is,  and  consequently 
has  no  jobs  to  offer  them ;  and  short  sighted  efficiency  on  the  other 
side,  which  defeats  its  own  ends  by  helping  children  to  compete 
against  their  parents. 

SEPARATION  OF  ADULT  AND  JUVENILE  DEPARTMENTS 

Practically  every  public  employment  exchange  in  the  United  States 
maintains  separate  departments  for  men  and  women.1  Convenience 
and  the  necessities  of  riling  systems  have  made  common  this  type  of 
organization.  But  only  three  public  employment  bureaus — those  of 
Indiana,  Massachusetts,  and  Los  Angeles — have  realized  the  im- 
portance of  separating  the  juvenile  from  the  adult  department. 
Convenience  has  not  pointed  out  the  value  of  such  separation. 

Yet  it  is  more  imperative  that  the  juvenile  department  be  sep- 
arated from  the  adult,  than  that  the  departments  for  men  and  women 
should  be  separate.  Men  and  women  are  registered  and  informed 
of  possible  employments  in  accordance  with  a  policy  on  the  part 
of  the  labor  exchange  which  is  the  same  for  both  sexes.  The  kinds 
of  employment  differ  and  hence  it  is  more  convenient  to  have  the 
two  departments,  even  though  their  fundamental  policy  is  the  same. 

But  the  juvenile  and  adult  departments  should  differ  fundamen- 
tally as  to  policy;  and  any  public  employment  exchange  which  is 
to  do  its  full  share  in  fighting  unemployment  must  recognize  this 
necessity  and  meet  it  by  organizing  a  separate  juvenile  department, 
and  organizing  it  in  such  a  way  that  it  can  meet  its  special  problems. 

THREE  SPECIAL  PROBLEMS 

These  special  problems  of  juvenile  placement  work  may  be 
grouped  under  three  heads  as  follows: 

I.  Reduction  of  child  labor:  Under  this  head  come  the  special 
problems  which  arise  from  the  immaturity  and  physical  disabilities 
of  children,  and  the  consequent  danger  both  of  their  doing  work 


1  See  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  May,  1914,  Vol.  4,  No.  2,  p.  364. 
Nineteen  out  of  twenty-six  state  or  municipal  employment  bureaus  which 
reported  upon  this  question  have  separate  departments  for  men  and  women. 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  205 

which  is  beyond  their  strength  and  endurance,  and  of  their  doing 
uneducative  work  when  they  might  be  still  in  school. 

2.  Vocational  guidance:     There  are  also  the  special  problems 
attendant  upon  the  entrance  into  work,  which  are  not  limited  by 
age  or  strength,  but  are  often  just  as  difficult  for  the  high  school 
graduate  to  meet  as  for  the  boy  who  quits  the  seventh  grade. 

3.  Juvenile  unemployment:  The  problem  of  reducing  juvenile  un- 
employment— the  "legalized  truancy"  of  the  boys  and  girls  who 
have  "working  papers"  in  their  pockets  but  no  jobs — cannot  be 
met  by  the  same  machinery  of  placement  as  is  worked  out  in  the 
adult  department,  mainly  because  juvenile  labor  is  comparatively 
immobile.     The  reserve  of  juvenile  labor  can  be  reduced  only  by 
securing  the  attendance  at  school  of  the  boys  and  girls  who  are 
out  of  work. 

These  three  special  problems  of  juvenile  placement,  which  mean 
that  the  work  of  the  juvenile  department  must  be  conducted  so 
differently  from  that  of  the  adult  department,  need  further 
elaboration. 

REDUCTION  OF  CHILD  LABOR 

Students  of  industrial  statistics  all  realize  the  tremendous  oppor- 
tunity of  the  labor  exchange  for  research.  Facts  which  now  can 
be  secured  but  incompletely,  at  great  expense,  could  be  registered 
almost  automatically  under  a  perfected  system  of  labor  exchanges. 
As  a  basis  for  sound  progressive  legislation  such  facts  are 
indispensable. 

This  statement  applies  with  double  force  to  the  juvenile  depart- 
ment because  of  our  constant  progress  in  child  labor  legislation. 
Higher  standards  are  set  each  year.  New  plans  for  education  in 
continuation  and  cooperative  schools  are  constantly  being  urged. 
And  though  fourteen  is  now  the  legal  minimum  working  age  in 
most  of  our  states,2  the  conviction  is  wide  spread  among  students  of 
child  labor  that  sixteen  ought  to  be  the  legal  minimum,  and  will  be 
in  the  near  future. 

The  Committee  on  Industrial  Education  of  the  American  Fed- 
eration of  Labor  says  in  its  report  of  1912 : 

The  committee  reaffirms  its  advocacy  of  free  schools,  free  textbooks,  and 
the  raising  of  the  compulsory  school  age.8 

a  See  Bulletin  of  National  Child  Labor  Committee.     Child  Labor  Laws  in 
All  States. 
"Senate  Document  No.  936.     Compiled  and  edited  by  Chas.  H.  Winslow. 


<2o6  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

The  Committee  on  Standards  of  Living  and  Labor  of  the  1912 
Conference  of  Charities  and  Corrections  includes  this  statement  in 
its  report : 

"We  have  declared  against  the  employment  of  children  in  wage  earning 
occupations  under  sixteen  years  of  age.  Evidence  gathered  from  every 
available  source  tends  to  prove  that  the  years  exacted  from  the  child  in 
industry  previous  to  that  are  wasted  years;  that  they  neither  contribute 
to  the  wealth  of  the  community  nor  to  the  equipment  of  the  child.4 

Prof.  F.  G.  Bonser,  President  of  the  Vocational  Guidance  As- 
sociation of  New  York  City,  writes : 

With  enlarged  opportunity  for  prevocational  and  vocational  education 
and  training,  as  well  as  an  extension  of  the  period  of  compulsory  school 
attendance  and  greater  facility  for  enforcing  it,  employment  of  children 
under  sixteen  should  be  limited  at  least  to  those  forced  into  it  by  economic 
pressure,  and  there  under  all  possible  safeguard. 

Mrs.  Alice  Barrows  Fernandez,  director  of  the  New  York  Vo- 
cational Guidance  Survey,  says  in  the  conclusion  of  her  report  to 
Superintendent  Maxwell : 

A  system  of  vocational  guidance  which  could  mean  finding  jobs  for  chil- 
dren under  sixteen  would  be  not  only  futile  but  dangerously  near  exploitation, 
however  well  meant  the  intention  might  be.0 

Dr.  Ira  S.  Wile,  Commissioner  of  Education  of  New  York  City, 
writes : 

The  tendency  of  industry  is  to  become  more  complicated  and  to  exercise 
greater  demands  upon  the  nervous  system  of  employees.  For  this  reason, 
it  seems  highly  undesirable  that  immature  children  who  virtually  are  still 
in  the  age  of  active  development  that  is  fraught  with  the  greatest  demands 
upon  their  nervous  organization  should  be  permitted  to  enter  into  industrial 
life.  Between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  sixteen  years,  children  are  physically 
not  prepared  to  cope  with  the  stresses,  strains  and  hazards  of  industrial 
labor. 

Such  a  body  of  opinion  as  is  represented  by  the  above  quotations 
is  at  least  a  challenge  to  any  employment  bureau  to  make  a  special 
study  of  what  it  is  doing  for  children  under  sixteen.  Future  legis- 
lation upon  both  child  labor  and  compulsory  education  is  going  to 
demand  all  the  available  information  upon  this  subject;  and  for  this 
reason  it  is  important  that  the  juvenile  department  regard  its  work 
with  children  under  sixteen  as  a  temporary  experiment  which  is  to 

4  Proceedings  of  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Corrections,  1912. 
6  Superintendent's  Annual  Report,  1912. 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  207 

be  watched  closely  and  critically  and  registered  carefully  so  as  to 
throw  as  much  light  as  possible  upon  the  future  legislation  that  is 
inevitable. 

This  is  the  first  special  problem  of  the  juvenile  department.  Just 
as  the  adult  department  must  register  information  which  will  be 
of  service  for  future  legislation  upon  subjects  of  public  relief  of 
unemployment,  aids  in  transportation,  and  unemployment  insurance ; 
so  the  juvenile  department  must  register  information  which  will  be 
of  service  for  future  legislation  upon  child  labor. 

VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE 

When  an  experienced  worker  enters  an  employment  bureau  to 
look  for  work,  and  sees  signs  over  the  various  counters  such  as 
"Skilled  Workers  Only,"  "Farm  Labor,"  "Clerical  Workers,"  "Un- 
skilled Labor,"  and  the  like,  he  has  little  difficulty  in  finding  the 
counter  which  is  going  to  register  his  application  for  a  job.  His 
future  job  is  already  largely  determined  by  what  he  has  done  in 
the  past. 

But  a  boy  or  girl  who  enters  the  office  timidly,  fresh  from  school, 
armed  with  a  piece  of  paper  called  a  labor  certificate,  and  with  a 
vague  remembrance,  perhaps,  that  a  cousin  has  said,  "Electricians 
have  a  good  trade,"  or  that  a  mother  has  remarked,  "It  is  fine  to  be 
a  dressmaker,"  but  with  no  other  notion  at  all  of  what  he  or  she 
can  do — such  a  child  represents  a  much  more  difficult  problem  to  a 
conscientious  employment  bureau  than  does  any  adult. 

This  difficulty  seems  only  to  be  increased  by  our  knowledge  of 
the  wholly  unsatisfactory  openings  that  children — at  least  children 
under  sixteen — must  go  into.  A  Massachusetts  Commission6  re- 
ported that  only  2  per  cent  of  the  children  under  sixteen  whom  they 
investigated  entered  "high  grade"  industries.  A  St.  Louis7  and  a 
Philadelphia8  investigation  estimated  that  3  per  cent  entered  "skilled 
work,"  or  "skilled  trades."  A  New  York  City  survey,9  slightly  more 

'The  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Industrial  and  Technical  Education, 
1906. 

7E.  E.  Lewis,  "Study  of  Juvenile  Occupations  in  St.  Louis,"  in  School 
and  Home  Education,  Dec.  1912,  Jan.  1913. 

8  James  S.  Hiatt,  The  Child,  the  School,  and  the  Job,  Public  Education 
Association  of  Philadelphia. 

'Alice  P.  Barrows,  "Report  of  the  Vocational  Guidance  Survey,"  in  Four- 
teenth Annual  Report  of  City  Superintendent  of  Schools,  New  York  City. 


208  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

liberal,  reports  that  5  per  cent  found  work  where  there  was  "some 
opportunity  for  training  under  supervision."  But  all  of  these  investi- 
gations agree  that  the  great  bulk  of  work  that  is  done  by  children 
under  sixteen  is  unsatisfactory,  in  the  highest  degree,  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  development  of  these  children  as  future  workers. 
And  a  Chicago  report10  sums  up  the  situation  thus:  "Practically 
the  only  vfork  open  to  children  who  leave  school  at  the  legal  age 
of  fourteen  is  the  most  unskilled  and  poorly  paid." 

Picture  for  a  moment  the  opportunities  for  work  now  open  to 
boys  and  girls  under  sixteen  in  any  large  city  in  this  country.  There 
are  two  great  classes  of  juvenile  work:  the  errand  jobs  where  the 
children  are  on  the  outer  fringe  of  industry,  as  it  were,  constantly 
delivering  packages  without  seeing  enough  of  the  real  working  of 
the  shop  to  know  what  is  being  done;  and  the  inside  manufacturing 
and  clerical  jobs  where  the  boy  or  girl  is  kept  at  a  single  detail, 
wrapping  packages  perhaps,  counting  parts,  screwing  nuts  onto  bolts, 
stemming  cherries,  cutting  bastings,  pasting  labels,  stamping  enve- 
lopes, or  some  similar  monotonous  uneducative  detail.  These  two 
classes  of  jobs,  "blind  alleys,"  all  of  them,  make  up  at  least  80  per 
cent  of  the  opportunities  open  to  children  under  sixteen  in  our  big 
cities.  The  most  scientific  placement  could  not  make  these  jobs 
permanent,  nor  would  we  wish  it  to. 

Here  then  is  the  second  problem  for  the  juvenile  employment  de- 
partment :  children  who  know  practically  nothing  of  what  they  want 
to  do  or  of  what  they  are  able  to  do,  must  be  sorted  into  jobs  of 
which  the  majority  are  futureless.  The  futility  and  even  the  danger 
of  off  hand  vocational  guidance  is  obvious. 

Fortunately,  the  opportunities  for  children  entering  industry  over 
sixteen  are  much  more  promising  than  for  those  who  enter  under 
sixteen,  and  the  ways  of  meeting  this  difficulty  are  being  pointed  out 
to  us  by  cities  which  are  experimenting  in  this  new  field  all  over  the 
world. 

The  vocational  guidance  activities  of  the  juvenile  employment 
bureau  will  be  of  two  kinds.  In  many  cases  the  bureau  can  prevent 
children  from  undertaking  work  which  will  obviously  lead  to  failure 
and  discouragement.  For  example,  as  Dr.  Josephine  Baker  of  the 
New  York  Department  of  Health  pointed  out,  if  the  school  doctor 

10  Anne  Davis :  Occupations  and  Industries  Open  to  Children  between 
Fourteen  and  Sixteen  Years  of  Age,  Board  of  Education,  Chicago,  1914. 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  209 

discovers  that  some  boy — large  and  strapping  though  he  be — has 
a  weak  heart,  a  well  organized  juvenile  labor  exchange  can  keep 
this  boy  away  from  heavy  employments.  Cooperation  with  the  de- 
partment of  health  should  make  it  possible  for  a  record  of  this 
boy's  physical  examination  to  be  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  exchange, 
and  the  boy  can  be  protected  both  against  himself  and  against  his 
parents  who  probably  do  not  appreciate  his  peculiar  weakness.  Or 
if  the  boy  brings  to  the  bureau  a  record  from  the  school  which  shows 
poor  work  in  penmanship,  arithmetic,  and  language  work,  but  a  high 
percentage  of  success  in  manual  training  and  industrial  work,  the 
labor  exchange  again  has  a  clue  as  to  the  general  kind  of  work 
which  the  boy  can  handle  most  successfully.  Cooperation  of  the 
departments  of  education  and  of  health  in  transferring  to  the  labor 
exchange  their  records  of  children  who  are  now  leaving  school  to 
go  to  work  will  make  possible  valuable  vocational  guidance  even 
though  its  main  aspect  is  the  negative  one  of  telling  the  child 
what  not  to  do. 

A  more  far  reaching  and  more  fundamental  policy  for  vocational 
guidance  of  the  juvenile  department  should  be  the  constant  en- 
deavor to  stimulate  the  thought  of  both  the  children  and  their  par- 
ents along  vocational  lines  by  presenting  to  them  in  digestible  form 
all  possible  information  as  to  future  opportunities.  However  stu- 
dents of  vocational  guidance  may  differ  in  their  emphasis  upon  one 
remedial  plan  or  another  to  combat  the  present  waste  due  to  voca- 
tional misfits,  they  are  all  agreed  that  one  of  the  most  serious  causes 
of  these  misfits  is  the  utter  lack  of  information  on  the  part  of  both 
children  and  their  parents  as  to  actual  work  and  training  oppor- 
tunities. Parents  should  understand  how  certain  highly  paid  em- 
ployments are  subject  to  long  out-of-work  periods;  and  also  how 
those  occupations  which  offer  high  wages  at  first  usually  offer  no 
opportunities  of  training  for  the  future.  Two  years  ago  I  visited 
all  the  boys  of  one  New  York  school  who  were  about  to  leave  to  go 
to  work,  and  during  a  certain  period  every  other  boy  wanted  to  be 
an  electrician.  It  was  a  fad.  Thomas  A.  Edison  had  cast  glamor 
and  romance  upon  the  profession  that  spread  to  the  meanest  bell 
wirer.  Reliable  and  comprehensive  information  is  the  only  defense 
against  such  fads.  In  the  absence  of  accurate  information  the  law 
of  supply  and  demand  works  clumsily  and  some  vocations  are  over- 
crowded while  others  suffer  a  scarcity  of  labor.  After  all,  a  child's 
parents  are  his  natural  counselors,  and  their  present  ineffectualness 


2io  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

as  advisors  is  due  mainly  to  their  ignorance  of  what  the  alternatives 
really  are.  In  the  days  of  the  small  town  they  knew  what  the 
various  employments  meant,  but  factory  walls  have  grown  high,  the 
processes  within  them  have  grown  complicated,  and  the  layman  on 
the  street  no  longer  knows  what  is  going  on  inside. 

Suggestions  for  spreading  this  information  come  from  many 
sides.  Mr.  Sears,  now  superintendent  of  the  City  of  New  York 
Public  Employment  Bureau,  suggests  debates  in  school  upon  occu- 
pational subjects.  Motion  picture  films  showing  processes  of  in- 
dustrial work  are  already  being  manufactured.  Visits  to  factories 
is  a  means  tried  out  by  many  industrial  schools  to  awaken  intelligent 
interest  in  occupations.  Occupational  bulletins  are  being  issued  by 
vocation  and  employment  bureaus  in  several  of  our  cities.  These 
are  all  suggestive  of  the  ways  in  which  the  juvenile  exchange  can 
further  its  policy  of  educating  both  the  children  and  their  parents 
as  to  the  real  opportunities  which  exist. 

W.  H.  Beveridge,  in  his  book  on  Unemployment,  a  Problem  of 
Industry,11  shows  the  importance  of  the  vocational  guidance  of  be- 
ginners in  industry  from  the  point  of  view  of  industry  as  a  whole. 
Industry  is  in  a  constant  flux.  New  processes  are  supplanting  old 
processes.  Whole  new  industries  are  gradually  but  constantly  sup- 
planting old  ones.  The  adjustments  to  these  changes  should  be 
made  as  far  as  possible  by  the  young  workers,  the  beginners.  An 
industry  in  a  given  locality  rarely  dies  out  faster  than  the  death- 
rate  of  its  workers  would  normally  correspond  to  were  there  no  new 
workers  taken  on.  And  if  the  new  workers  can  therefore  be  guided 
into  the  growing  industries,  and  can  be  trained  for  the  newest  pro- 
cesses while  they  have  their  youth  and  their  adaptability,  much  of 
the  hardship  which  industrial  change  brings  to  the  older  workers 
who  have  already  achieved  one  kind  of  skill  will  be  avoided.  In 
order  to  secure  this  result  both  individual  young  people  and  their 
parents  should  be  kept  informed  of  the  promising,  growing  indus- 
tries. Also,  schools  which  are  training  for  special  trades  should  be 
kept  informed  as  to  the  status  of  the  trades  which  they  teach. 

But  to  give  this  information  to  boys  and  girls,  to  their  parents 
and  their  schools,  is  a  large  task  which  demands  organization,  pub- 
licity, and  above  all,  study.  No  juvenile  department  is  going  to 
know  anything  about  the  opportunities  for  work  which  it  is  dealing 
with,  unless  it  has  a  generous  allowance  in  its  budget  for  this  very 
purpose.  Significant  facts  about  occupations  will  not  show  them- 

11  Pages  212-214. 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  211 

selves  immediately.  They  must  be  dug  out,  a  process  which,  we 
must  recognize  in  the  beginning,  will  cost  both  time  and  money. 
Miss  Poyntz  of  the  Association  for  Labor  Legislation  has  suggested 
that  the  labor  exchange  should  be  equipped  with  a  research  depart- 
ment. Let  me  further  suggest  a  publicity  department,  or  at  least  a 
policy  of  presenting  occupational  information  in  popular  form  to 
the  children  who  have  to  decide  what  they  will  do,  to  their  parents 
who  must  advise  them,  and  to  the  schools  which  are  training  the 
children  for  future  opportunities  of  which  they  know  too  little. 

In  these  ways,  then,  the  juvenile  department  can  gradually  meet 
its  second  special  problem,  that  of  vocational  guidance ;  and  it  should 
be  noted  that  it  cannot  even  begin  to  meet  this  special  problem  with- 
out the  cooperation  of  the  schools  and  the  department  of  health. 

JUVENILE  UNEMPLOYMENT 

The  third  special  problem  of  the  juvenile  labor  exchange  is  to 
prevent  the  unemployment  of  children, — the  "legalized  truancy"  of 
the  boys  and  girls  who  have  "working  papers"  in  their  pockets,  but 
still  run  the  streets  with  no  employment.  The  Vocational  Guidance 
Survey  of  New  York  City  found  that  the  "working  paper"  boys 
investigated  by  them  were  unemployed  about  one-fourth  of  the 
time.  Juvenile  labor  can  be  picked  up  off  the  streets.  In  New  York 
City  there  are  800  private  employment  bureaus,  and  not  one  with  a 
special  juvenile  department.  Why?  Because  an  employer  can  get 
what  he  wants  by  merely  hanging  a  "Boy  Wanted"  sign  in  his 
window,  and  he  doesn't  care  to  pay  an  agency  for  the  service  which 
his  cheaper  sign  will  do.  Juvenile  labor  is  too  plentiful.  There  are 
four  boys  looking  for  work  for  every  three  positions. 

This  situation,  of  course,  is  not  peculiar  to  juvenile  workers.  It 
is  the  purpose  of  every  labor  exchange  to  reduce  the  reserve  of 
labor,  so  unnecessarily  large.  But,  by  the  process  of  selecting  con- 
tinually the  workmen  who  are  most  fit,  and  giving  them  the  ap- 
proximation of  full  time  work,  and  by  thus  freezing  out  the  others 
who  will  be  forced  to  go  elsewhere,  the  unemployment  of  adults  can 
be  definitely  cut  down.  This  is  because  adult  labor  is  comparatively 
mobile,  and  an  efficient  system  of  labor  exchanges  will  make  it  more 
so.  The  grown  man  will  go  to  live  where  he  can  find  work. 

The  reduction  of  juvenile  unemployment,  on  the  other  hand,  can 
not  be  accomplished  by  mere  rapidity  and  efficiency  of  placement 
because  juvenile  labor  is  comparatively  immobile.  Children  work 


212  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

and  live  where  their  parents  live.  The  fact  that  a  boy  or  girl  of 
sixteen  or  seventeen  is  out  of  work  even  for  a  long  period  of  time 
rarely  means  that  he  or  she  can  go  to  a  neighboring  town  to  look 
for  work.  In  a  city  like  New  York,  even  the  neighborhood  within 
the  city  makes  a  great  difference.  The  Vocational  Guidance  Survey 
of  New  York  found  that  of  the  jobs  held  by  boys  investigated  in 
one  school  district,  80  per  cent  were  within  a  half  mile  of  this  school 
district.  These  boys  were  unemployed  about  one-fourth  of  the 
time;  but  it  was  out  of  the  question  to  look  for  a  job  in  the  Bronx 
or  in  Brooklyn,  or  even  in  any  part  of  Manhattan  two  miles  away. 
The  chance  to  save  carfare  by  living  near  home  forbade  it.  Chil- 
dren find  work  according  to  the  local  demand. 

An  employment  bureau  cannot  make  jobs ;  and  with  the  situation 
just  described  in  mind  it  is  easy  to  see  that  a  labor  exchange  can  do 
nothing  to  reduce  this  reserve  of  juvenile  labor  unless  its  cooperation 
with  the  schools  is  such  that  it  can  induce  children  for  whom  in- 
dustry has  no  immediate  demand  to  remain  in  school  or  even  to 
return  to  school  after  they  have  left.  Suppose  the  juvenile  depart- 
ment should  follow  the  most  approved  policy  of  adult  placement 
and  concentrate  the  available  employment  upon  three-fourths  of 
the  boys  and  girls  who  are  now  legally  allowed  to  work.  What 
would  be  the  effect  upon  the  other  fourth?  They  would  not  move 
away  unless  their  parents  did.  They  would  not  return  to  school 
unless  special  pressure  were  brought  to  bear,  because,  in  possession 
of  their  "working  papers/'  they  and  their  parents  would  continue 
to  hope  that  they  might  find  work.  As  a  result,  the  unemployment 
of  children  would  merely  be  concentrated  upon  a  smaller  number 
whose  acquisition  of  bad  habits  would  be  proportionately  greater. 
No  saving  at  all  would  result  in  toto  except  a  slight  saving  of  the 
employer's  time  in  finding  the  boy  or  girl  labor  of  which  he  is  in 
need.  But  this  saving  would  be  so  small  (because  employers  already 
get  all  the  applications  they  can  handle  by  merely  hanging  out  a 
sign  "Boy  Wanted"  or  "Girl  Wanted,"  the  demand  being  for  work 
which  can  be  done  by  anybody  without  training),  that  unless  the 
juvenile  department  can  be  organized  really  to  help  the  boys  and 
girls  in  a  large  way  the  expenditure  for  its  maintenance  is  wasted. 

Legislative  change  which  will  require  that  each  labor  certificate 
granted  shall  apply  to  a  specified  establishment  and  must  be  re- 
newed before  the  child  is  permitted  to  work  elsewhere,  plus  a  defi- 
nite policy  on  the  part  of  the  juvenile  department  to  concentrate  the 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  213 

opportunities  for  employment  upon  the  older  children,  will  both 
reduce  to  a  minimum  the  present  unemployment  or  legalized  truancy 
of  our  "working  paper"  children,  and  will  at  the  same  time  raise 
the  age  at  which  children  begin  to  work.  Ohio,  Massachusetts  and 
Maryland  all  insist  that  children  who  are  not  at  work  must  be  in 
school.  The  New  York  City  Public  Employment  Bureau  already 
makes  a  point  of  concentrating  the  opportunities  for  employment 
upon  the  older  children.  If  these  two  branches  of  policy  can  be 
brought  together,  the  present  legalized  truancy  of  "working  paper" 
children  can  be  ended. 

It  is  again  worth  noting  that  in  order  to  meet  its  third  problem  of 
reducing  the  unemployment  of  children  the  juvenile  employment 
exchange  must  work  in  hand-in-glove  cooperation  with  the  schools. 

PITFALLS 

The  three  special  problems  just  described  make  it  clear  that  if  the 
juvenile  department  is  run  on  exactly  the  same  lines  as  the  adult 
bureau,  it  may  fall  into  the  following  pitfalls : 

1.  It  may  encourage  children  to  leave  school  early  and  help  to  get 
them  situations  detrimental  to  them  physically  and  mentally;  thus 
directly  combatting  our  nation-wide  effort  against  the  evils  of  child 
labor. 

2.  It  may  simply  organize  on  a  great  scale  the  present  blundering 
into  jobs. 

3.  It  will  certainly  scarcely  reduce  to  any  appreciable  extent  the 
present  unemployment  or  legalized  truancy  of  children. 

QUESTIONS  OF  POLICY 

Such  are  the  reasons  for  organizing  a  separate  juvenile  depart- 
ment along  definite  policy  lines  of  its  own.  Because,  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  juvenile  department  follows  a  policy  of  cooperation 
with  the  schools,  with  child  labor  law  enforcing  agencies,  and  with 
vocational  guidance  effort,  it  can  use  its  lever  of  labor  market  con- 
trol to  enormous  public  advantage.  Common  sense,  as  well  as  the 
practise  of  the  most  successful  existing  employment  bureaus,  de- 
clares that  the  juvenile  department  must  be  separate  in  policy  and 
in  the  detail  of  administration  from  the  adult  department. 

Having  agreed  that  the  juvenile  department  is  to  be  distinct,  we 
are  faced  by  many  questions : 

What  shall  be  the  age  limits  of  its  activity? 


214  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

What  shall  be  its  relation  to  the  adult  department? 

Shall  its  organization  demand  the  services  of  an  advisory  commit- 
tee, and,  if  so,,  what  interests  shall  be  represented  upon  such  a 
committee  ? 

What  are  the  possibilities  in  any  city  of  cooperation  with  the 
public  schools,  with  the  department  of  health,  with  the  bureau  of 
factory  inspection,  with  volunteer  committees? 

What  shall  be  the  basis  of  selection  in  sending  applicants  to 
positions:  age,  priority  of  application,  fitness,  locality,  economic 
need? 

To  what  extent  and  in  what  cases  is  it  proper  for  it  to  act  as  a 
positive  deterrent — keeping  boys  away  from  jobs? 

What  are  the  possibilities  of  issuing  bulletins  of  information  for 
school,  parent,  and  child,  based  upon  the  statistics  available  from 
the  registries  in  the  bureau's  office? 

What  is  the  proportionate  cost  of  mere  placement;  of  vocational 
counsel ;  of  more  complete  registration ;  of  issuing  special  bulletins  ? 

With  these  questions  in  mind,  it  will  be  worth  while  to  examine 
the  present  organization  of  some  of  the  most  important  public  em- 
ployment bureaus  in  the  United  States  and  in  Europe  to  see  wherein 
their  experience  throws  light  upon  our  present  problem. 

SIGNIFICANT  EMPLOYMENT  BUREAUS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

There  are  nineteen  states  in  the  United  States  which  operate  state 
employment  bureaus,  and  some  fifteen  cities  which  operate  municipal 
employment  bureaus;  but  of  these  only  three  systems,  those  of 
Massachusetts,  Indiana  and  Los  Angeles,  provide  even  in  theory  a 
separate  department  for  boys.  And  there  is  no  bureau  in  the  United 
States,  either  public  or  philanthropic,  which  provides  for  a  girls' 
department  separate  from  its  women's  department. 

"Boy"  labor  is  more  distinct  from  adult  male  labor,  than  "girl" 
labor  is  from  adult  female  labor.  A  boy  graduates  from  a  wagon 
boy  or  "tail  boy"  into  a  truck  driver  merely  by  adding  a  couple  of 
years  to  his  age,  and  the  strength  which  corresponds  to  his  new 
maturity  to  his  body.  In  the  same  way  the  "water  boy"  becomes  a 
building  laborer,  and  the  errand  boy  becomes  a  muscular  assistant  to 
the  shipping  clerk.  His  type  of  work  has  changed  enough  from 
the  employer's  point  of  view  to  make  it  convenient  for  the  employ- 
ment bureau  to  deal  with  him  in  a  separate  department. 

There  is  less   difference  between  the  occupations  of  girls   and 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  215 

women.  The  girl's  physical  strength  has  not  increased  in  the  same 
proportion  as  the  boy's,  and  unless  her  work  has  been  some  unusual 
apprenticeship  where  she  has  actually  been  learning  a  trade  she  has 
not  added  greatly  to  her  skill.  For  this  reason  girls'  work  and 
women's  work  are  always  grouped  together,  while  boys'  work  and 
men's  work  are  occasionally  distinguished. 

This  distinction,  however,  is  due  to  convenience,  and  not  to  con- 
scious public  policy.  On  the  whole  the  organization  of  public  em- 
ployment bureaus  in  the  United  States  shows  that  if  the  special 
problems  attendant  upon  the  placement  of  juveniles,  as  juveniles, 
are  being  realized,  they  are  not  being  consciously  met. 

MASSACHUSETTS 

Massachusetts  has  the  only  public  labor  exchange  in  the  country 
which  can  teach  us  anything  from  its  own  experience  about  juvenile 
placement.12  For  further  suggestion  we  must  go  to  the  private  and 
philanthropic  bureaus  of  our  own  country,  and  to  the  great  labor 
exchange  systems  of  Great  Britain  and  Germany. 

In  the  Massachusetts  labor  exchange  in  Boston  the  main  divisions 
are  for  males  and  females,  the  building  being  so  planned  as  to 
receive  the  men  downstairs  and  the  women  upstairs. 

Downstairs  in  the  men's  department  there  is  a  common  riling  case 
holding  the  records  of  all  the  opportunities  for  employment.  This 
is  used  in  common  by  the  six  clerks  who  have  charge  of  placing, 
respectively,  boys,  handicapped,  trade  or  commercial  workers,  hotel 
and  restaurant  help,  unskilled  industrial  workers  and  skilled  indus- 
trial workers.  The  applicants  are  directed  by  signs  as  to  the  specialty 
of  each  of  the  clerks,  and  they  approach  the  desk  which  they  be- 
lieve is  appropriate  to  them. 

Here  is  where  the  elasticity  of  the  system  adds  to  its  effectiveness. 
Technically  all  minors  under  twenty-one  are  "boys"  and  are  sup- 
posed to  be  in  charge  of  the  clerk  who  places  "boys."  For  ex- 
ample, if  a  lad  of  eighteen  or  twenty,  just  out  of  high  school  comes 
in,  without  much  idea  as  to  what  he  wants  to  do,  he  is  appropriately 
directed  to  the  clerk  in  charge  of  placing  "boys."  This  clerk  has 
been  chosen  because  of  his  interest  in  boys  and  in  their  difficulties 

"Cleveland  is  undertaking  an  interesting  experiment  in  associating  a 
vocational  guidance  bureau  very  closely  with  its  municipal  labor  exchange, 
but  as  this  has  been  tried  only  since  January,  1915,  it  is  too  early  to  report 
upon  its  experience. 


216  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

upon  starting  to  work.  He  is  not  so  hard  pressed  as  are  the  other 
clerks  by  the  number  of  connections  that  must  be  made.  He  has 
more  time  to  talk  over  the  problems  of  each  individual  with  refer- 
ence to  the  opportunities  for  work  of  which  the  bureau  has  cogni- 
zance. This  is  no  systematic  vocational  guidance,  but  it  is  a 
conscious  attempt  nevertheless  to  give  the  youth  who  is  beginning 
to  work  very  different  treatment  from  the  routine  which  must  be 
accorded  the  adult  experienced  workers.  Ex-superintendent  Sears 
is  fond  of  recalling  incidents  when  fathers  have  brought  their  boys 
to  the  office  and  asked  to  talk  over  the  whole  question  of  the  boys' 
future  with  the  superintendent. 

Suppose,  however,  a  youth  of  eighteen  or  nineteen  calls  who  is 
definitely  a  plumber's  helper,  and  a  member  of  the  plumbers'  union. 
This  boy  is  referred  at  once  to  the  department  for  skilled  indus- 
trial workers.  A  lad  may  not  be  over  seventeen  and  still  be  physi- 
cally so  mature,  and  have  such  experience  already  in  a  definite  line 
of  work,  that  he  is  sent  at  once  to  the  appropriate  adult  department 
and  the  clerk  in  charge  of  the  work  for  boys  does  not  see  him  at  all. 

This  elasticity  of  age  limit  as  between  the  adult  and  the  boys' 
departments  is  one  of  the  most  suggestive  aspects  of  the  Boston 
bureau.  It  is  based  soundly  upon  the  fact  that  a  nineteen-year-old 
boy  of  very  limited  experience  may  need  much  more  attention  than 
a  seventeen-year-old  boy  of  greater  working  experience.  It  is  also 
to  be  remembered  that  all  the  opportunities  for  work  for  males  are 
filed  together.  In  this  way  there  is  no  duplication  or  confusion 
arising  from  the  fact  that  a  youth  may  either  be  placed  by  one  of 
the  special  clerks  in  the  adult  department  or  by  the  clerk  in  charge 
of  the  work  for  boys.  Mr.  Sears  accomplished  an  effective  and  at 
the  -same  time  an  elastic  organization.  And  the  main  thing  other 
American  cities  have  to  learn  from  him  in  starting  juvenile  depart- 
ments in  their  public  employment  bureaus  is  the  elasticity  of  the 
age  limit  as  between  the  juvenile  and  the  adult  departments. 

PHILANTHROPIC  BUREAUS 

Most  of  the  philanthropic  employment  bureaus  in  the  United 
States  have  been  organized  with  some  relief  purpose  in  mind.  Em- 
ployment departments  in  connection  with  charities  and  settlements 
are  characteristic.  They  are,  however,  so  insignificant  as  far  as  the 
real  attempt  to  control  and  reduce  unemployment  is  concerned  that 
they  will  not  be  taken  up. 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  217 

The  four  philanthropic  juvenile  employment  bureaus  that  will  be 
described  briefly  are:  (i)  the  Cooperative  Employment  Bureau  of 
Cleveland;  (2)  the  Schmidlapp  Bureau  for  Women  and  Girls,  in 
Cincinnati;  (3)  the  Alliance  Employment  Bureau  of  New  York 
City;  and  (4)  the  Boston  Placement  Bureau. 

These  four  juvenile  employment  bureaus  undoubtedly  represent 
the  best  thought  that  has  gone  into  the  organization  of  juvenile 
placement  work  in  this  country,  and  as  such  their  aims  and  ac- 
complishments are  worth  close  study.  The  writer  believes  that 
many  of  their  methods  are  not  suited  to  the  work  of  any  department 
of  a  public  employment  bureau;  and  their  shortcomings  from  this 
point  of  view  will  be  pointed  out  unsparingly.  Let  it  be  under- 
stood, however,  from  the  beginning,  that  the  criticisms  which  are 
made  in  what  follows  are  purely  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
municipal  employment  bureau  which  is  organizing  a  juvenile  de- 
partment. Possibly  the  very  methods  which  would  not  do  at  all  in 
a  municipal  bureau  are  those  methods  most  valuable  in  accomplish- 
ing the  special  aims  of  the  philanthropic  bureau. 

COOPERATIVE  EMPLOYMENT  BUREAU  OF  CLEVELAND,  AND  SCHMID- 
LAPP BUREAU  FOR  WOMEN  AND  GIRLS,  IN  CINCINNATI 

The  Cooperative  Employment  Bureau  in  Cleveland  and  the 
Schmidlapp  Bureau  in  Cincinnati  are  alike  in  that  both  are  philan- 
thropic employment  bureaus  for  women  and  girls,  and  both  under- 
take other  social  activities  besides  the  employment  work.  For 
example,  the  Cleveland  bureau  has  issued  a  directory  of  boarding 
houses,  and  maintains  a  summer  camp ;  and  the  Schmidlapp  bureau 
perhaps  considers  its  main  function  the  granting  of  scholarships 
for  the  further  training  of  young  women  and  girls.  But  the  em- 
ployment departments  of  both  bureaus  are  well  developed. 

In  the  year  ending  June  i,  1913,  the  Schmidlapp  Bureau  had 
916  new  applicants  and  made  255  placements;  while  in  the  year 
ending  December  31,  1911,  the  Cleveland  bureau  had  1,500  new 
applications,  and  made  870  placements.  It  is  not  possible  to  find 
the  expense  per  placement  for  either  of  these  bureaus,  but  as  the 
Cleveland  bureau  all  told  spent  less  than  $1,500  on  its  year's  work, 
including  the  other  activities  just  mentioned,  the  expense  per  place- 
ment is  comparatively  low.  The  expenses  of  the  employment 
department  of  the  Schmidlapp  Bureau  are  not  published. 

Both  bureaus  regard  themselves  as  much  more  than  mere  in- 


218  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

formational  links  between  the  unemployed  girl  or  woman  and  her 
employment.  The  Cleveland  bureau  describes  its  work  under  the 
three  heads  of  (i)  investigation  of  local  trades  and  publication  of 
simple  handbooks  on  each,  (2)  vocational  guidance,  and  (3)  follow 
up  work.  The  Cincinnati  bureau  contains  in  its  report  this  statement : 

From  the  beginning  the  aim  has  'been  to  fit,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the 
right  girl  into  the  right  place,  rather  than  to  make  many  placements,  irre- 
spective of  the  individual  traits  and  special  conditions  of  the  place  to  be 
filled.  .  .  .  That  a  close  touch  may  be  established  with  new  applicants  they 
are  urged  to  visit  the  office  frequently,  where  they  are  observed  and  a 
study  made  of  their  personal  characteristics.  In  any  cases  where  further 
information  would  seem  helpful  or  necessary,  the  homes  are  visited  and 
telephone  calls  made.  .  .  .  Whenever  there  seems  any  question  of  a  girl's 
ability  or  reliability,  an  effort  is  made  to  follow  her  up  after  placement, 
or  in  the  event  of  her  failing  to  get  work  through  the  Bureau,  to  keep 
track  of  her  in  some  way.  ...  In  order  to  carry  out  the  aim  of  the  office — 
to  suit  the  worker  to  her  work — along  with  this  study  into  the  efficiency 
and  desirability  of  the  applicants,  a  corresponding  effort  is  made  to  learn 
as  much  as  possible  of  every  firm  or  employer  sending  in  a  call  for  workers ; 
and  the  rule  holds  never  to  fill  any  position  till  some  investigation  of  it 
is  made  either  by  personal  visit  or  inquiry. 

These  statements  show  how  different  the  policy  of  these  bureaus 
is  from  what  the  policy  for  adults  of  a  large  public  employment 
bureau  is  likely  to  be,  when  we  remember  that  the  principal  aim 
of  the  latter  is  materially  to  decrease  unemployment  by  decasualiz- 
ing industry,  and  that  therefore  its  aim  is  to  act  as  an  informational 
link  between  every  possible  opportunity  for  work  and  the  worker. 
The  philanthropic  bureaus  all  agree  that  certain  workers  need 
special  protection  and  special  help.  They  confine  their  activities 
to  the  helping  of  women  and  children,  showing  agreement  that  they 
believe  these  classes  of  workers  are  at  present  in  greatest  need  of 
protection.  And  their  experience  does  not  lead  them  to  give  less 
time  to  securing  the  right  placement  and  protection  of  workers, 
and  more  to  increasing  the  number  of  applications  and  placements, 
but  the  reverse. 

ALLIANCE  EMPLOYMENT  BUREAU  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY 

The  Alliance  Employment  Bureau  was  organized  for  the  purpose 
of  helping  women  and  girls.  It  included  boys  in  its  placement  work 
only  when  almost  forced  to  do  so  by  the  girls  bringing  in  their 
younger  brothers  and  asking  for  help  for  them.  This  is  a  comment 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  219 

upon  the  fundamental  interrelation  of  all  the  departments  of  an 
employment  bureau,  upon  the  inevitable  tendency  to  make  the  work 
of  an  employment  bureau  all-inclusive.  The  Alliance  Employment 
Bureau,  however,  was  founded  upon  the  idea  of  special  protection 
for  the  workers.  It  was  its  special  purpose  to  find  work  for  women 
and  minors — the  classes  of  workers  whom  they  felt  needed  greatest 
protection — under  good  conditions.  For  this  reason  it  seemed  logical 
to  them,  just  as  it  has  to  the  Cleveland  and  Cincinnati  bureaus,  to 
exclude  adult  male  labor. 

Like  the  Cleveland  and  Cincinnati  bureaus,  this  New  York  bureau 
made  its  watch  word  the  welfare  of  the  worker;  and  only  as  a 
necessity  to  their  having  any  opportunities  for  employment  to  offer 
was  their  purpose  to  secure  the  welfare  of  the  employer.  To  this 
end  all  establishments  are  investigated  carefully  before  applicants 
are  sent,  but  no  references  are  formally  demanded  of  the  girls  who 
are  sent  there.  Feeling  a  certain  pride  in  the  kind  of  girl  who 
comes  to  the  office,  the  bureau  declares  that  it  would  not  be  neces- 
sary for  "its"  girls  to  bring  references.13 

Establishments  are  rejected,  in  theory  at  least,  on  the  grounds 
of  (i)  nonfulfillment  of  the  child  labor  law;  (2)  bad  work  room 
conditions  (light,  air,  sanitary  conditions,  etc.)  ;  and  (3)  insufficient 
wages. 

The  Alliance  Employment-  Bureau  has  so  complete  a  system 
of  factory  investigation  and  record  that  it  is  interesting  to  examine 
their  success  in  this  policy  of  rejecting  opportunities  for  work 
offered  by  employers  which  do  not  satisfy  the  standards  of  the 
bureau  as  to  wages  and  conditions  of  work. 

There  seem  to  be  two  difficulties. 

In  the  first  place,  the  bureau  has  no  definite  standards  to 
judge  by,  nor  can  have.  Though  they  insist  that  the  constant  in- 
vestigation of  factories  on  the  part  of  the  placement  officers  gives 
them  approximate  standards,  these  standards  are  not  definite  enough 
to  be  specified  either  in  writing  or  by  word  of  mouth  for  the  use 
of  a  larger  organization  of  many  placement  officers  all  seeking  to 
perform  their  duties  upon  the  same  basis. 

In  the  second  place,  the  bureau  assumes  a  certain  proprietor- 
ship over  "its"  girls,  and  sometimes  insists  that  the  girls  placed 

"Experience  has  not  been  so  rosy  in  the  case  of  the  boys.  Most  boys 
must  now  bring  a  labor  certificate,  a  teacher's  recommendation,  and  an 
outside  reference,  before  being  registered. 


22O  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

by  the  bureau  be  treated  better  than  other  girls  in  the  same  shop. 
One  of  the  placement  officers  of  the  bureau  told  me  that  she  had 
visited  a  factory  where  one  of  "her"  girls  was  working,  and  found 
that  the  girl  she  had  placed  was  sitting  in  the  center  of  the  work 
room  under  a  gas  light,  while  many  of  the  employees  were  working 
by  the  windows.  This  placement  officer  felt  incensed  that  "her"  girl 
should  have  been  put  in  this  unfavorable  position;  and  she  told  me 
how  she  had  taken  the  girl  away  from  the  shop,  and  had  sent  no 
help  to  this  particular  factory  since  that  time. 

Such  a  policy  might  be  considered  inappropriate  if  pursued  by 
a  public  employment  bureau. 

A  further  difficulty  of  the  Alliance  Employment  Bureau  comes 
from  its  taking  applicants  and  notices  of  vacancies  from  all  over 
the  great  city  of  New  York,  and  yet  not  doing  so  in  very  large 
numbers.  Their  registration  is  comparatively  sparse  and  scattered. 
In  consequence,  a  boy  after  registering  usually  goes  home  to  await 
a  notice  of  a  vacancy  sent  by  mail.  The  chances  are  that  he  finds 
work  by  himself  in  the  course  of  a  couple  of  weeks,  and  though 
he  has  promised  faithfully  to  report  to  the  bureau  if  he  finds  work, 
in  more  than  half  the  cases  he  neglects  to  do  so.  This  means 
that  the  bureau  sends  the  boy  a  postal  card  notifying  him  of  the 
vacancy,  which  he  in  turn  disregards,  and  the  upshot  is  that  the 
employer  hunts  elsewhere  for  a  worker  to  fill  his  position. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  a  public  labor  exchange,  the  Alliance 
Employment  Bureau  teaches  what  to  avoid.  A  public  bureau  for 
adults  must  regard  itself  mainly  as  an  exchange  of  information 
about  workers  and  vacancies.  It  cannot  assume  responsibility  for 
its  placements  to  either  the  employer  or  the  employed.  If  the 
bureau  can  be  large  enough  and  efficient  enough  to  register  the 
majority  of  the  notices  of  vacancy  in  the  city,  the  places  offering 
high  wages  will  have  the  best  possible  opportunity  to  get  the  best 
workers,  and  the  places  offering  low  wages  will  be  forced  to  raise 
their  rates  when  brought  into  direct  competition  with  the  others. 
The  policy  of  exclusiveness  in  an  employment  bureau  may  be  of 
advantage  to  a  private  exchange  which  is  built  upon  that  reputation, 
but  it  is  of  no  ultimate  value  for  a  public  employment  bureau  which 
has  to  meet  the  whole  situation. 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  221 

BOSTON  PLACEMENT  BUREAU 

The  Boston  Placement  Bureau  has  much  in  common  with  the 
Cleveland,  Cincinnati  and  New  York  bureaus  just  described.  It  has 
the  same  point  of  view  that  its  whole  function  is  the  successful 
placement  of  the  worker.  To  this  end  factories  and  work  places 
are  investigated  and  the  conditions  recorded  in  much  the  same  way 
that  the  Alliance  Employment  Bureau  has  worked  out. 

The  Boston  bureau,  perhaps  because  it  is  younger  and  has  been 
founded  on  the  crest  of  the  wave  of  interest  in  vocational  guidance, 
has  certain  other  features.  It  has  a  large  corps  of  volunteer  workers 
who  visit  the  homes  of  the  children  who  are  registered,  and  who 
"follow  up"  the  work  of  the  bureau  by  meeting  these  young  people 
and  their  parents  at  branch  libraries,  or  night  schools,  or  settlements, 
on  specified  evenings  to  talk  over  the  work  and  the  prospects  of 
these  young  beginners  in  industry.  The  Boston  bureau  has  been 
further  influenced  by  the  interest  of  the  schools  of  late  in  vocational 
guidance.  The  connection  with  the  school  is  made  as  close  as 
possible.  When  the  pupil  tells  the  school  that  he  plans  to  leave  to 
go  to  work,  the  teacher  makes  out  an  elaborate  record  in  duplicate 
which  includes  a  record  of  the  school  work,  the  physical  health, 
the  mental  traits,  and  vocational  preferences  of  the  child;  one  of 
these  copies  is  sent  to  the  placement  bureau,  the  other  to  the  office 
which  grants  the  labor  certificate.  Then  the  placement  secretary 
sees  the  child  and  records  her  impression  of  his  abilities.  She 
calls  at  his  home  and  talks  to  his  parents,  and  adds  further  to  the 
record.  Any  conference  during  the  follow-up  work,  as  well  as  every 
placement  and  comment  of  employer  upon  the  quality  of  work  done, 
is  also  recorded.  And  from  this  mass  of  information  the  bureau 
attempts  to  place  scientifically. 

Such  a  system  is  enormously  expensive,  and  if  the  present  vol- 
unteer service  had  to  be  paid  for  the  cost  would  be  double  what 
it  is  at  present.  The  Boston  bureau  admits  that  its  system  is  an 
expensive  one;  but  it  claims  that  if  scientific  placement  can  re- 
duce the  present  changing  from  job  to  job,  it  will  save  the  com- 
munity its  own  expense  many  times  over. 

Has  the  Boston  Placement  Bureau  succeeded  in  developing  a 
scientific  placement  which  makes  children's  jobs  more  permanent? 
That  is  a  question  which  must  be  answered  with  a  decided  affirma- 
tive before  their  elaborate  record,  vocational  guidance,  and  follow 
up  system  can  be  accepted  as  a  sound  basis  for  public  extension. 


222  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

Let  us  first  ask  this  question:  Why  do  children  and  young 
people  leave  jobs? 

Nearly  all  studies  of  industry  which  go  into  an  investigation 
of  workers  attempt  to  get  information  upon  the  "reasons  for  leav- 
ing." It  is  impossible  in  the  space  of  this  paper  to  compare  the 
available  information.  But  I  think  all  investigators  will  agree 
that  most  of  the  jobs  are  left  for  reasons  inherent  in  the  work 
itself  and  not  inherent  in  the  workers.  "Laid  off  slack,"  is  the 
commonest  refrain  and  that  happens  to  the  least  experienced  work- 
ers first,  no  matter  how  scientifically  they  have  been  placed.  "The 
boss  failed,"  or  "the  place  was  moved,"  or  "the  factory  was  burned 
out"  happen  frequently  enough  to  color  the  picture  of  industrial 
insecurity.  Next  to  these  reasons  apparently  so  difficult  for  human 
control  come  "I  didn't  learn  enough";  "The  boss  promised  to  let 
me  learn  all  the  different  machines  but  he  kept  me  on  an  automatic 
•gear  cutter  all  the  time";  "I  learned  all  there  was  in  that  place"; 
"I  had  a  chance  for  a  better  job,"  etc.,  etc.,  which  again  are 
inevitable  from  the  present  specialiaztion  of  industry. 

It  has  been  stated  that  eighty  per  cent  of  the  opportunities  now 
open  to  boys  under  sixteen  in  our  big  cities  are  either  errand 
jobs  where  the  boy  is  kept  on  the  outer  fringe  of  industry,  or 
monotonous  inside  manufacturing  or  clerical  jobs  where  the  boy 
is  kept  at  a  single  detail  to  the  exclusion  of  everything  else  that 
is  going  on,  as  if  he  were  wearing  blinders.  The  most  scientific 
placement  cannot  make  these  jobs  -permanent  because  the  more 
ambitious  the  boy  the  more  eager  he  must  be  to  change  his  job  after 
he  has  learned  all  that  is  possible  in  his  present  position. 

It  is  further  recognized  everywhere  that  practically  no  indus- 
tries are  self-sustaining  in  the  sense  that  they  provide  for  a  normal 
quota  of  workers  of  all  ages,  who,  when  they  once  have  entered 
the  industry,  can  remain  there  without  change.  Frequent  change 
is  inevitable  from  the  conditions  of  our  industrial  organization; 
and  this  is  especially  true  of  the  younger  workers. 

With  this  in  mind,  plus  the  fact  that  the  Boston  Placement 
Bureau  has  not  proved  its  placements  to  be  any  more  permanent 
than  the  average  job  found  in  the  ordinary  way,  we  can  certainly 
not  yet  justify  so  great  an  expenditure  per  placement  on  the  part 
of  a  public  employment  bureau  on  the  plea  of  ultimate  economy 
through  the  reduction  of  the  present  changing  from  job  to  job. 
That,  at  least  up  to  the  present,  is  unproved  ground. 


juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  223 

Another  limitation  upon  vocational  guidance  is  the  complexity 
of  industry,  and  our  ignorance  of  it.  While  some  knowledge  has 
been  gained  of  a  half-dozen  occupations  and  their  requirements 
definitely  enough  to  test  applicants  and  weed  out  those  who  would 
be  least  successful,  we  have  as  yet  no  means  of  scientifically  helping 
any  one  individual  to  choose  from  among  the  hundreds  of  possible 
occupations. 

Vocational  guidance  to  date — as  far  as  the  individual  is  concerned 
in  making  his  own  personal  choice — can  merely  be  an  effort  to 
place  all  possible  pertinent  information  at  his  disposal,  and  at  the 
disposal  of  his  parents;  and  to  emphasize  the  importance  of  his 
decision  enough  to  make  the  youth  and  his  parents  give  the  thought 
to  it  which  its  importance  demands. 

SIGNIFICANCE  OF  THESE  PHILANTHROPIC  BUREAUS 
The  significance  of  the  two  Ohio  bureaus  lies  in  the  fact  that 
their  bulletins  of  information,  their  vocational  guidance,  and  their 
follow  up  systems,  are  all  being  emphasized  more  and  more. 
Though  the  policy  of  a  public  employment  bureau  must  be  very 
different  in  its  general  plan,  still  the  policy  of  giving  special  attention 
to  the  guidance  and  protection  of  juvenile  workers  whose  labor 
has  not  the  mobility  that  adult  male  labor  has,  must  be  recognized 
as  sound.  Every  public  bureau  should  agree  with  the  philanthropic 
bureaus  mentioned  in  making  this  a  basic  policy. 

The  significance  of  the  Alliance  Bureau  is  its  constant  preference 
for  places  where  there  is  "some  chance  to  learn";  its  conscious 
pressure  upon  young  people  to  give  greater  weight  to  the  oppor- 
tunities for  training  in  a  job  than  to  the  amount  of  wages.  And 
the  significance  of  the  Boston  Placement  Bureau  is  its  connection 
with  the  labor  certificate  office  of  the  department  of  education 
and  with  the  continuation  schools.  It  is  attempting  to  make  itself 
one  link  in  the  chain  of  some  state  control  over  young  people  even 
after  they  have  left  school.  That  we  are  beginning  to  recognize 
this  necessity  is  evidenced  by  our  recreation  centers  and  continua- 
tion schools.  The  Boston  Placement  Bureau  suggests  how  a 
juvenile  labor  exchange  can  be  another  link  in  this  control. 

JUVENILE  PLACEMENT  IN  GERMANY 

The  labor  exchange  has  been  further  developed  in  Germany, 
perhaps,  than  in  any  other  country.  But  two  characteristic  in- 
stitutions there  will  account  for  the  little  differentiation  between 


224  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

the  adult  and  juvenile  departments.  One  is  the  highly  organized 
system  of  continuation  and  part  time  schools  which  have  the  com- 
pulsory attendance  of  boys  in  the  trades  from  eight  to  twelve  hours 
a  week  until  they  are  eighteen  years  old;  and  of  boys  in  un- 
skilled work  from  six  to  eight  hours  a  week  until  they  are  six- 
teen ;  thus  having  extensive  supervision  and  control  over  the  youth 
at  this  transition  age.  The  other  is  the  Handwerkerskammer 
(chamber  of  trade)  which  is  the  association  of  all  those  holding 
the  master's  certificate,  and  of  employers  in  all  trades  except  those 
carried  on  under  factory  conditions. 

"This  association  deals  with  a  wide  range  of  matters  touching 
industry — disputes  between  masters  and  men,  regulations  re  hours, 
wages,  sanitary  conditions,  etc.,  but  their  most  important  function 
is  the  maintenance  of  the  standard  of  skill,  and  the  control  and 
supervision  of  the  supply  of  young  labor  and  of  the  conditions 
of  apprenticeship.  As  a  rule,  the  examination  of  apprentices,  of 
journeymen  and  masters,  the  encouragement  of  technical  classes 
and  everything  that  can  tend  to  secure  or  improve  the  status  of  the 
handworker — master,  man  or  apprentice — fall  within  their  scope."1* 

These  powerful  associations  of  "little  masters"  have  maintained 
the  old  apprenticeship  system  against  the  encroachments  of  modern 
factory  production  much  more  successfully  than  has  been  done 
in  England  or  America.  The  Handwerkerskammer  is  strongest  in 
Munich  where  the  apprenticeship  system  is  to  be  seen  at  its  best  and 
where  the  proportionate  number  of  "little  masters"  is  probably 
greater  than  in  any  other  city  of  the  same  size.  But  though  the 
Handwerkerskammer  is  exceptionally  powerful  in  Munich,  it  is  in- 
fluential in  all  German  cities,  and  takes  an  active  part  in  an  organized 
way  in  the  placing  of  apprentices,  the  inspection  of  workshops,  and 
determination  of  proper  standards  of  working  conditions  for 
apprentices. 

When  we  remember  how  closely  the  Handwerkerskammer  con- 
trols the  placing  of  boys  in  the  trades,  and  how  closely  the  continua- 
tion schools  supervise  the  boys  employed  in  unskilled  work,  it  is 
easy  to  understand  that  the  juvenile  labor  exchange  becomes  little 
except  a  registration  bureau.  It  is  one  link  in  the  control  of  this 
transition  age,  but  has  undertaken  no  vocational  guidance  or  other 

14  Juvenile  Labor  in  Germany;  a  report  to  the  Education  Committee  of 
London  County  Council,  by  Miss  Durham,  1910. 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  225 

means  of  giving  special  help  to  juveniles.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  a  further  reason  for  the  lack  of  interest  in  vocational  guidance 
on  the  part  of  German  juvenile  labor  exchanges  is  because  "for  the 
most  part,  the  social  and  economic  position  of  the  children  settles 
the  general  class  of  employment  which  they  are  likely  to  go  into."15 

The  Berlin  bureau  has  undertaken  one  special  feature  within  the 
last  two  years — public  motion  picture  shows  of  the  various  em- 
ployments, with  the  object  of  interesting  boys  and  girls  in  their 
future  vocations.  Only  to  this  extent  does  it  do  any  more  for 
juveniles  than  it  does  for  adults. 

With  all  its  perfected  organization  as  a  part  of  the  general  labor 
exchange,  the  juvenile  department  has  sometimes  had  to  protest 
in  order  to  hold  its  own  even  as  a  labor  registration  bureau  against 
the  encroachments  of  the  employers'  associations  and  the  schools, 
each  interested  in  the  placement  of  juvenile  workers.16 

But  though  the  juvenile  labor  exchange  in  Germany  is  usually 
but  one  cog  in  the  whole  machinery  of  labor  exchanges,  without 
individual  character  of  its  own,  certain  cities  have  much  that  is  of 
help  to  us  in  our  organization  of  juvenile  labor  exchanges  in 
America. 

We  have  already  mentioned  Berlin's  use  of  motion  pictures  show- 
ing typical  employments  and  the  same  scheme  is  followed  by 
Frankfort. 

A  second  suggestion  comes  from  Strassburg,  where  the  authorities 
make  a  great  deal  of  the  physical  examination  of  the  children  upon 
leaving  school,  and  the  record  of  it.  This  medical  examination 
made  by  the  school  doctor  "is  considered  of  importance  both  in 
enabling  a  suitable  choice  of  trade  to  be  made,  as  well  as  in  guiding 
the  employer  in  the  choice  of  a  suitable  boy  or  girl."17 

A  third  suggestion  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  director  of  the  statis- 
tical bureau  of  Halle  has  since  1908  opened  his  office  for  regular 
consultation  hours  both  for  children  who  are  about  to  go  to  work 
and  their  parents,  and  for  adults  who  seek  information  about 
various  occupations — about  the  wages,  hours,  and  conditions  of 
work,  or  conditions  of  the  labor  market.  This  statistical  bureau 


M  Meyer  Bloomfield,  The  School  and  the  Start  in  Life,  U.  S.  Bureau  of 
Education,  Bulletin  1914,  No.  4. 

19  See  Juvenile  Labor  in  Germany;  a  report  to  the  Education  Committee 
of  the  London  County  Council,  by  Miss  Durham,  1910. 

11  Ibid. 


226  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

works  in  close  touch  with  the  local  labor  exchange,  so  that  its 
suggestions  find  means  of  realization  in  the  labor  exchange.  "Dr. 
Wolff,  the  organizer  of  this  experiment/'  says  Mr.  Bloomfield, 
"believes  that  the  child's  natural  counselors,  the  parents,  are  often 
too  busy  and  too  little  informed  as  to  the  nature  of  the  various 
employments  to  be  effective  advisers."18 

Any  one  at  all  acquainted  with  the  complexity  and  specialization 
of  modern  industrial  work  must  realize  how  mild  a  statement  this 
is.  In  the  gray  confusion  that  every  parent  tries  to  peer  into  to 
get  some  sign  of  what  his  child  should  try  to  do,  let  there  at  least 
be  the  light  of  available  information.  Too  much  of  statistics  is 
buried  in  hard  volumes.  The  effort  of  the  director  of  the  Halle 
Bureau  of  Statistics  to  popularize  and  make  available  his  abundant 
economic  information,  and  to  give  much  of  his  own  time  and  that 
of  his  office  to  the  explanation  and  interpretation  of  this  informa- 
tion to  the  ordinary  citizens — parents  and  children  whose  lives  may 
be  guided  by  it — is  one  of  the  most  significant  beginnings  that 
Germany  has  to  show. 

GREAT  BRITAIN 

Cities  of  England,  Scotland,  Wales  and  Ireland,  are  developing 
juvenile  labor  exchanges  along  two  plans  of  organization.  Accord- 
ing to  the  first  plan  the  juvenile  labor  exchange  is  directly  under 
the  authority  of  the  education  committee  so  that  it  is  an  integral 
part  of  the  school  system,  and  its  advisory  committee  enables  it 
to  cooperate  with  the  adult  labor  exchange  organized  by  the  national 
board  of  trade.19  According  to  the  second  plan  the  relationship  is 
reversed:  the  juvenile  labor  exchange  is  subordinate  to  the  adult 
exchange  which  is  directly  under  the  authority  of  the  board  of 
trade,  and  in  this  case  the  advisory  committee  secures  the  proper 
close  cooperation  with  the  schools. 

This  dual  system  has  arisen  as  a  result  of  two  statutes,  the  labor 
exchange  act  of  igog20  which  gives  the  board  of  trade  power  and 


"Meyer  Bloomfield,  The  School  and  the  Start  in  Life,  U.  S.  Bureau  of 
Education,   Bulletin   1914,   No.  4,  p.   124. 

19  The  board  of  trade  corresponds  to  our  federal  Departments  of  the  In- 
terior,   Commerce,    and    Labor. 

20  For  text  of  this  act  see  Bulletin  of  the  International  Labor  Office,  Vol. 
V,  p.  21. 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  227 

authority  to  organize  labor  exchanges,  both  adult  and  juvenile;  and 
the  education  (choice  of  employment)  act  of  1910  which  empowers 
"local  education  authorities  to  give  boys  and  girls  information,  ad- 
vice, and  assistance  with  respect  to  the  choice  of  employment,"21 
when  such  guidance  and  placement  work  has  not  been  organized 
by  some  other  agency.  Some  cities,  as  Liverpool,  Birmingham, 
Cambridge  and  the  cities  of  Scotland,  offer  examples  of  the  school 
controlled  juvenile  employment  agency;  and  others,  as  London 
and  the  cities  of  Wales  and  Ireland,  have  board  of  trade  con- 
trolled juvenile  labor  exchanges  which  merely  cooperate  with  the 
school  system. 

The  working  out  of  these  respective  plans  is  of  great  interest 
to  the  American  student  of  juvenile  employment  in  view  of  the 
conflicting  opinions  now  current  as  to  whether  a  children's  em- 
ployment bureau  should  be  organized  inside  or  outside  of  our 
school  system.  English  cities  have  done  so  many  things  along  both 
plans  of  organization  that  American  cities  can  learn  much  from 
their  experience. 

The  work  now  under  way  in  Liverpool  and  in  London  will 
be  briefly  described,  as  these  cities  are  types  of  what  is  done 
elsewhere. 

LIVERPOOL  . 

The  juvenile  employment  bureau  i  Liverpool  has  its  offices 
and  waiting  rooms  in  the  education  I  niding.  The  superintendent 
of  this  employment  bureau  is  directl;  responsible  to  the  director 
of  education.  The  schools  act  as  suboffices  for  the  registration 
of  children  applying  for  employment,  and  many  teachers  act  as 
subagents  for  the  central  office. 

Some  of  the  aims  of  the  Liverpool  juvenile  employment  com- 
mittee are  as  follows: 

(1)  The    collection    and    dissemination    of    information    relating   to    the 
industrial  conditions  prevailing  in  the  city. 

(2)  The   furnishing  of  advice   to  young  persons   as   to   occupations   for 
which  they  are  best  fitted,  having  regard  to  their  education,  ability,  physique, 
predilection,  and  status. 

(3)  The   encouragement   of   young   persons   to   continue   their    education 
at  evening  classes   and  technical   schools. 


^Quotation  from  the  title  of  statute.     For  full  text  see  Bulletin  of  the 
International  Labor  Office,  Vol.  VI,  p.  36. 


228  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

(4)  The  keeping  of  records  showing  the  occupations  taken  up  by  children 
on  leaving  school. 

(5)  The  maintaining  of  the  central  office  with  the  schools  acting  as  sub- 
offices,  for  the  registration  of  young  persons  applying  for  employment,  and 
submitting  suitable  applicants  for  the  vacant  positions  notified  by  employers. 

(6)  The  supervision  of  young  persons  after  they  have  taken  up  work, 
for  the  purpose  of  assisting  in  cases   (a)  where  advice  may  be  needed  re- 
garding the   facilities  which   exist  for   extending   a  child's  education,   and 
(b)  where  other  and  better  employment  is  sought. 

A  large  advisory  committee  of  employers  representing  the  leading  com- 
mercial, trade  and  professional  organizations  of  the  city  has  been  formed 
to  help  in  the  employment  work.0 

All  this  effort,  it  is  to  borne  in  mind,  is  school  effort,  the  whole 
organization  being  under  the  authority  of  the  education  committee. 
But  the  weakness  of  the  Liverpool  system  lies  in  the  fact  that  the 
placement  activities  of  the  board  of  trade  labor  exchange  and 
those  of  the  education  committee  labor  exchange  are  not  always 
correlated.  This  waste  due  to  duplication  of  effort  has  not  yet 
been  overcome  by  cooperation. 

LONDON 

In  this  respect  it  is  interesting  to  contrast  the  London  scheme 
which  has  avoided  such  waste  by  having  both  juvenile  and  adult 
labor  exchanges  under  the  same  authority,  the  board  of  trade. 
London  secures  the  close  touch  between  the  employment  exchange 
and  the  schools  which  all  English  experience  recognizes  as  essen- 
tial by  an  elaborate  system  of  local  and  central  advisory  com- 
mittees, but  the  juvenile  and  adult  employment  bureaus  are  kept 
in  the  necessary  close  connection.  The  London  organization  will 
be  described  in  some  detail  because  the  writer  believes  American 
large  cities  have  more  to  learn  from  London  in  this  respect  than 
from  any  other  one  place.  The  following  diagrams  will  serve 
to  make  more  clear  the  differences  in  organization  between  the 
Liverpool  or  school  controlled  exchange,  and  the  London,  or  board 
of  trade  controlled  exchange. 

The  cross  lines  in  the  London  diagram  indicate  three  important 
lines  of  connections:  (i)  They  show  the  close  relation  between 
the  London  County  Council  and  the  board  of  trade  advisory  com- 


!  Meyer  Bloomfield,  The  School  and  the  Start  in  Life,  pr  35. 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges 


229 


mittees.  Six  out  of  the  eighteen  members  of  the  central  juvenile 
advisory,  and  ten  out  of  the  thirty  members  of  every  local  com- 
mittee, are  nominated  by  the  county  council.  (2)  They  show 
the  close  relation  between  the  local  officers  and  the  central  clearing 


IIVBRPOOI 


[Eduoation  Committee] 


{large  Advisory  Committee   of  Employers] 


(juvenile  Emplo 

srraent  Committee] 

iTeachers  Acting  as   Subagentsj 


IBoard  of  Trade! 
tEabor  Exchange   for  Adufti 


I  0  N  D  0  N 


fcondon  County  Council] 


[Board  of  Trade] 


JEducation  Commit  tea] 
jCare  Committees! 


ILpprenticaship  and  Skilled 
employment  Committee 


Metropolitan  Association 
E£ 


[Juvenile  Advisory  Committee   of  18| 


[for  Befriending  Young  Servant 


jPriends   of  the   Poor 


IBoys'   Country  Work  Society 


Marine  Society 


{Etc.,   Etc.,   Etc. 


Exchange sj  [local  Exchanges! 


ORGANIZATION   OF  JUVENILE  LABOR   EXCHANGE   SYSTEMS   IN   LIVERPOOL  AND 

LONDON 


house.  And  (3)  they  indicate  the  cooperation  between  the  local 
exchanges  and  the  numerous  philanthropic  societies  which  are  doing 
similar  work. 

The  London  organization  is  too  vast  and  complex  to  be  described 
in  full;  but  there  are  certain  aspects  of  the  organization  which 


230  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

should  be  thoughtfully  studied  by  all  those  interested  in  starting 
similar  juvenile  labor  exchanges  in  the  big  cities  of  America. 
These  aspects  are: 

1.  The  division  into  local  bureaus. 

2.  The  organization  outside  of  the  school  system  but  cooperating 
with  it. 

3.  The  work  of  volunteers. 

4.  The  connection  with  medical  officers  in  schools  and  factories. 

5.  The  extensive  cooperation  even  in  placement  work  with  outside 
organizations. 

DIVISION  INTO  LOCAL  BUREAUS 

The  work  of  the  London  juvenile  labor  exchange  is  done  by 
the  local  bureaus.  Each  bureau  has  its  own  executive  or  paid 
secretary,  and  each  its  local  committee  of  thirty. 

The  increased  efficiency  made  possible  by  the  local  bureaus  is 
self  evident.  Such  bureaus  are  much  more  important  in  the  place- 
ment work  for  children  than  in  that  for  adults.  Juveniles  looking 
for  work  are  confined  much  more  to  the  locality  of  their  homes 
than  are  their  parents.  Carfare  bears  a  greater  proportion  to  their 
wages.  As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  80  per  cent  of  the 
children  investigated  by  the  Vocational  Guidance  Survey  of  New 
York  City  found  their  first  jobs  within  a  half  mile  of  the  school 
district  where  they  lived. 

The  local  bureaus  are  also  important  from  the  point  of  view 
of  guidance  and  help.  Consultation  hours  with  parents,  children, 
and  teachers  become  possible.  In  London  a  "school  leaving  form" 
is  made  out  by  each  child  about  to  leave  school  to  go  to  work, 
and  this  is  forwarded  to  the  local  office.  Then  the  child  and  his 
parents  are  summoned  to  the  office  at  a  certain  time  when  the 
committee  has  decided  to  meet,  and  perhaps  the  teacher  or  head 
master  of  the  child  is  able  to  be  present  also.  With  a  list  of 
registered  vacancies  furnished  it  by  the  secretary  of  the  exchange, 
the  committee  is  able  to  make  this  consultation  profitable  and 
suggestive  as  to  the  child's  future.  Our  largest  American  cities 
cannot  achieve  the  same  results  without  the  similar  organization 
of  local  offices. 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  231 

ORGANIZATION  OUTSIDE  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM 

The  second  aspect  of  the  London  system  that  should  be  noted 
is  that  the  juvenile  labor  exchanges  are  not  under  school  control 
though  their  work  is  in  close  cooperation  with  the  work  of  the 
schools.  The  names  of  employers  of  labor  and  the  records  of 
all  possible  opportunities  for  work  should  in  some  way  be  filed 
together,  whether  the  opportunities  are  for  juveniles  or  adults.  If 
waste  is  to  be  avoided  and  policies  are  to  be  in  harmony  there 
should  be  the  same  ultimate  authority  behind  both  the  adult  and 
juvenile  departments.  London  has  recognized  this  fact,  and  at 
the  same  time  has  not  forgotten  the  necessity  for  close  relation- 
ship between  the  schools  and  the  juvenile  departments.  The 
"school  leaving  form"  aids  the  committee  to  judge  of  a  boy's 
capacity.  School  teachers  and  head  masters  serve  on  the  committees. 
The  teacher  who  knows  the  child  best  is  often  asked  to  attend 
the  meeting  of  the  committee  at  which  the  opportunities  for  this 
particular  child  are  discussed.  Reports  of  the  action  of  the  ex- 
change are  immediately  returned  to  the  school.  Thus  the  boy 
or  girl  is  not  dropped  entirely  by  one  organization  and  suddenly 
taken  under  the  care  of  another.  The  transition  is  made  without 
abruptness,  and  with  an  approximation  of  intelligent  control. 

WORK  OF  VOLUNTEERS 

The  advisory  committees  of  the  local  labor  exchanges  are  or- 
ganized for  an  amount  of  service  that  would  be  remarkable,  per- 
haps impossible,  in  any  other  country  beside  England,  considering 
that  the  members  of  the  committee  all  act  in  a  volunteer  capacity. 
These  local  committees  of  thirty  are  each  appointed  by  the  central 
juvenile  advisory  committee  of  eighteen,  which  in  turn  has  been 
appointed  by  the  board  of  trade.  The  local  committees  are  repre- 
sentative of  the  different  interests  in  the  community,  some  members 
being  nominated  by  the  county  council,  some  by  the  head  teachers' 
association,  and  an  equal  number  being  chosen  to  represent  the 
workers  and  the  employers. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  functions  of  the  local  committee 
as  prescribed  by  the  board  of  trade:23 

3.  To  form  subcommittees  or  "rotas"  to  attend  at  the  exchange  for  the 
purpose  of  interviewing  applicants  and  their  parents  in  order  to — • 

23  Meyer  Bloomfield,  The  School  and  the  Start  in  Life. 


232  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

a.  Give  advice  with  regard  to  employment  in  general  and  with  regard 

to  particular  vacancies. 

b.  To  endeavor  to  secure  the  attendance  of  boys  and  girls  at  evening 

continuation   or   technical   classes. 
4.  To  secure  in  cooperation   with   the  labor  exchange   authorities   that — 

a.  Employers  are  informed  as  to  the  work  of  the  local  communities. 

b.  Adequate  information  is  obtained  as  to  the  conditions  and  prospects 

of  particular  trades   and  situations. 

c.  The  records  of  all  information  relative  to  children,  employers,  and 

employment  are  so  kept  as  to  be  readily  available  for  the  purpose 

of  the  committee. 

6.  To  report  periodically  and  make  suggestions  to  the  London  juvenile 
advisory  committee  and  to  carry  out  such  instructions  as  may  from  time 
to  time  be  issued  by  them. 

These  volunteer  committees  thus  actually  sit  with  the  paid  ex- 
ecutive secretary  of  the  exchange  in  consultation  with  children 
and  their  parents,  advising  them  as  to  reported  vacancies  and  future 
possible  careers. 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  it  is  possible  to  secure  volunteer 
service  of  similar  devotion  and  efficiency  in  America,  for  we  do 
not  have  the  same  leisure  class,  trained  and  accustomed  to  public 
service.  Nevertheless,  with  our  great  corps  of  school  teachers — 
which  has  an  ever  increasing  proportion  of  vocational  teachers, 
men  and  women  of  real  experience  in  industry — and  with  our 
associations  of  workers  and  employers  ever  more  conscious  of  the 
public  service  they  must  give,  the  organization  of  local  committees 
to  help  and  advise  the  local  placement  secretary  seems  far  from 
impossible.  The  success  of  the  London  organization  of  volunteers 
is  at  least  an  inspiration  to  those  who  would  wish  to  organize  a 
somewhat  similar  service  in  the  big  cities  of  the  United  States. 

MEDICAL  INSPECTION 

A  fourth  significant  aspect  of  the  London  organization  is  the 
help  given  to  these  local  advisory  committees  by  the  medical  officers 
in  the  schools  and  factories.  The  placement  secretary  and  the 
advisory  committee  not  only  have  before  them  the  child's  school 
record  but  also  his  health  record,  in  which  all  defects  are  noted. 
The  child  is  examined  shortly  before  leaving  school,  and  re-ex- 
aminations are  held  in  cases  of  doubt.  The  advisory  committees 
are  conscious  that  many  young  people  break  down  because  they 
have  entered  occupations  for  which  they  are  physically  unfit. 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  233 

This  cooperation  with  medical  officers  is  being  carried  forward 
to  include  cooperation  with  the  certifying  factory  surgeons.  The 
certifying  factory  surgeon  has  the  power  to  forbid  physically  unfit 
employees  to  do  work  which  is  injurious,  and  to  allow  them  to  do 
work  which  will  not  be  harmful.  It  is  of  course  important  to  have 
a  record  of  his  decisions  filed  with  the  labor  exchange. 

No  one  of  our  states  has  the  system  of  certifying  factory  sur- 
geons. The  laws  adopted  by  Ohio,  Massachusetts  and  Maryland, 
however,  requiring  that  juveniles  under  specified  age  return  to 
the  labor  certificate  office  for  renewal  of  the  certificate  before 
each  new  job,  offer  possibilities  of  similar  medical  control.  For 
example  a  child  with  a  curvature  of  the  spine  may  be  forbidden 
to  do  any  lifting  or  carrying  of  weights,  but  allowed  to  do  ordinary 
machine  tending;  while  another  child  with  defective  vision  may 
be  forbidden  to  do  machine  work,  but  allowed  to  do  fairly  heavy 
lifting  and  carrying.  Even  without  an  elaborate  inspectorial  system 
of  certifying  factory  surgeons,  such  orders  given  by  the  depart- 
ment of  health,  or  by  whatever  department  issues  the  labor  certifi- 
cate, could  be  made  effective  by  an  efficient  juvenile  labor  ex- 
change which  was  in  possession  of  the  medical  records. 

COOPERATION  WITH  OUTSIDE  ORGANIZATIONS 

London  has  not  attempted  to  divert  work  which  was  already 
being  done  well  suddenly  into  a  new  and  different  channel.  Her 
system  of  juvenile  labor  exchanges  has  not  been  developed  to  put 
other  people  out  of  business.  Rather,  it  has  coordinated  and  united 
the  work  of  various  philanthropic  organizations  in  such  a  way 
that  each  performs  more  useful  service  than  before  along  its  own 
special  lines. 

Rules,  or  rather  suggestions,  such  as  the  following,  drawn  up 
between  the  various  advisory  committees  and  the  apprenticeship 
and  skilled  employment  committees,  serve  to  prevent  overlapping 
and  duplication  of  effort: 

Rule  I. — Except  in  cases  where  a  parent  or  employer  objects,  the  entire 
work  of  indenturing  apprentices,  with  or  without  premium,  shall  be  dealt 
with  by  the  apprenticeship  and  skilled  employment  committee,  and  not  by 
the  local  advisory  committee. 

Rule  II. — Boys  and  girls  suited  to  apprenticeship,  for  whom  there  are  no 
suitable  vacancies  at  the  exchange,  may  be  referred  to  the  apprenticeship 
and  skilled  employment  committee. 

Rule   III. — The   apprenticeship   and    skilled    employment    committee    shall 


234  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

notify  to  the  local  advisory  committee  the  names  of  all  their  juvenile 
applicants  in  respect  of  whom  school-leaving  forms  have  been  issued. 

Rule  IV. — When  the  labor  exchange  has  a  vacancy  for  an  indentured 
apprentice  and  the  employer  does  not  object,  the  vacancy  shall  be  referred 
to  the  apprenticeship  and  skilled  employment  committee  and  dealt  with  by 
them. 

Rule  V. — When  the  apprenticeship  and  skilled  employment  committee  have 
a  suitable  vacancy  which  they  are  unable  to  fill  they  shall  apply  to  the  local 
advisory  connmittee  for  a  suitable  boy  or  girl,  and  vice  versa. 

Rule  VI. — 'Apprenticeship  and  skilled  employment  committees  may  canvass 
employers,  but  only  after  consultation  with  the  secretary  of  the  local  advisory 
committee  in  whose  district  the  firm  to  be  canvassed  is  situated. 

Rule  VII. — As  far  as  possible,  all  information  about  juveniles  and  vacancies 
possessed  by  one  party  to  this  arrangement  shall  be  at  the  disposal  of  the 
other. 

Rule  VIII. — Physically  handicapped  children  who  are  not  eligible  for  the 
help  of  the  ''after-care  committee  for  children  from  the  physically  defective 
schools"  shall  be  referred  by  the  local  advisory  committee  to  the  apprentice- 
ship and  skilled  employment  committee,  if  the  latter  be  willing  to  receive  them. 

This  is  the  agreement  of  the  London  juvenile  labor  exchange 
with  only  one  other  placement  agency.  Similar  arrangements  have 
been  made  with  several  other  societies  such  as  the  Friends  of  the 
Poor,  the  Metropolitan  Association  for  Befriending  Young  Ser- 
vants, and  the  Boys'  Country  Work  Society. 

The  organization  of  London  juvenile  placement  efforts  shows  a 
consciousness  of  the  waste  and  of  the  positive  evils  which  arise 
from  the  stumbling  of  immature  children  into  industrial  work 
which  is  educationally  injurious  to  them,  on  the  part  of  the  whole 
community;  and  it  shows  a  determination  on  the  part  of  the 
whole  community  to  take  hold  of  the  present  situation  and  check  this 
waste.  These  English  committees  know,  as  everyone  must  know 
who  has  critically  studied  the  industrial  careers  of  fourteen  to 
eighteen-year-old  children,  that  "so  long  as  the  public  neglects  to 
put  in  force  certain  fundamental  social  policies  through  legislation, 
the  placement  of  children  under  eighteen  is  at  best  a  make-shift."24 
But  the  advisory  committees  are  trying  not  only  to  replace  the 
unguided  stumbling  of  children  into  industry  by  some  knowledge 
of  the  prospects  in  different  trades  and  occupations;  they  are  also 
doing  their  part  toward  putting  in  force  the  more  fundamental 
social  policies  of  added  protection  and  increased  opportunities  for 
training  for  industry's  young  beginners. 


Meyer  Bloomfield,  The  School  and  the  Start  in  Life,  p.  64. 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  235 

SUGGESTIONS   FOR  JUVENILE   EMPLOYMENT  DEPARTMENTS 

The  experience  of  the  employment  bureaus  which  have  just 
been  described  suggests  pretty  definitely  six  recommendations  in 
connection  with  the  organization  of  juvenile  departments  under 
public  employment  bureaus  in  the  United  States: 

1.  The  age  limit  which  separates  the  juvenile  from  the  adult 
department  should  not  be  fixed,  but  should  be  flexible. 

2.  A  school   record  of   the  child  should  be  forwarded  to  the 
juvenile   exchange  and   there  filed  at  the  time   the   child   leaves 
school  to  go  to  work.    This  is  the  basis  for  the  vocational  guidance 
of  all  the  English  labor  exchanges,  and  is  a  method  also  followed 
by  the  Boston  Placement  Bureau. 

3.  A   record  of  the  physical  examination  of  the  child   should 
likewise  be  forwarded  to  the  exchange  by  the  department  of  health, 
or  whatever  medical  authority  is   in  charge  of  the  examination. 
The  close  connection  of  the  labor  exchange  with  all  medical  au- 
thority which  has  anything  to  do  with  children  leaving  school  for 
work,  is  a  feature  again  of  all  the  English  labor  exchanges,  and 
is  a  special  feature  of  the  municipal  exchange  of  Strassburg. 

4.  A  scheme  of  organization  into  local  suboffices  will  undoubtedly 
be  necessary  in  the  large  cities  of  the  United  States  as  the  ex- 
change approaches  its  maximum  efficiency. 

5.  Reliable  information  as  to  the  advantages  and  disadvantages 
of  all  kinds  of  occupations,  gathered  from  the  statistics  of  the 
department  of   labor  or   from   the   registries   of   the   employment 
bureau  itself,  should  be  presented  in  understandable  form  to  chil- 
dren, parents,  and  schools.     Also  certain  hours  of  the  week  should 
be  set  aside  for  consultation  upon  industrial  conditions  and  op- 
portunities with  children  who  are  about  to  go  to  work  and  with 
their  parents.     And  it  should  be  understood  that  this  conference 
with  parents  need  not  be  held  merely  at  the  moment  the  child  is 
applying  for  work;  but  it  may  take  place  months  before  the  boy 
or  girl  leaves  school,  and  thus  influence  perhaps  the  work  which 
the  child  chooses  to*  take  in  school,  and  the  length  of  time  he  or 
she  remains  in  school.     This  is  one  of  the  soundest  schemes  for 
vocational  guidance,  as  has  been  proved  by  the  work  of  the  director 
of  the  bureau  of  statistics  at  Halle,  Germany,  and  by  the  efforts 
of  the  most  energetic  of  London's  local  advisory  committees. 

6.  One  thing  which  will  be  necessary  in  the  United  States,  at 


236  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

least  while  juvenile  placement  and  vocational  guidance  continue  to 
be  experimental  and  subject  to  the  present  constant  change  and 
improvement,  is  an  advisory  committee  which  will  actively  help 
in  securing  the  necessary  cooperation  with  other  organizations  and 
in  shaping  the  policy  of  the  juvenile  department.  This  committee 
must  not  be  a  mere  shield  of  "representative  interests"  created  to 
divide  responsibility.  It  must  be  a  committee  of  active  students 
of  the  whole  problem  of  juvenile  employment. 

ADVISORY  COMMITTEE 

On  the  advisory  committee  the  following  interests  or  organiza- 
tions should  be  represented: 

(1)  The  schools  should  be  represented.     In  some  cities  it  may 
be  desirable  to  have  represented  even  different  departments  within 
the  schools.     For  example,  it  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  labor 
exchange  can  do  nothing  to  reduce  juvenile  unemployment  unless 
it  can  help  to  secure  the  attendance  at  school  of  all  children  who 
are  unemployed,  whether  they  have  labor  certificates  or  not.     This 
means  the  active  cooperation  of  the  department  of  attendance  within 
the  schools.     It  has  further  been  pointed  out  that  the  labor  ex- 
changes can  be  of  great  assistance  to  the  schools  in  their  develop- 
ment of  continuation  and  cooperative  classes.     Perhaps  this  would 
mean  another  school  representative  upon  the  advisory  committee, 
who  could  make  the  exchange  of  the  greatest  possible  value  in 
the   organization   of    these    forms   of    industrial    education.      The 
"school  leaving  form"  to  be  filed  in  the  exchange  must  of  course 
be  secured  as  a  basis  for  vocational  guidance.    Thus  in  some  cities 
it  may  be  sufficient  to  have  one  representative  of  the  schools  upon 
the  advisory  committee,  while  in  others  it  will  be  wise  to  have  as 
many  as  three  members  representing  the  educational  work  of  the 
municipality. 

(2)  The  department  of  health  should  be  represented.    As  Meyer 
Bloomfield  says,  "All  vocational  counseling,  labor  exchange  service, 
and  after  care  must  take  their  cue  from  the  physician's  report."25 

(3)  Vocational  guidance  associations  should  be  represented  where 
they  exist.     Effort  is  being  put  forth  all  over  the  world  to  make 
vocational  guidance  scientific.     The  situation  is  not  such  to-day 


25  The  School  and  the  Start  in  Life,  p.  116. 


Juvenile  Employment  Exchanges  237 

that  a  labor  exchange  could  make  use  of  psychological  tests  of 
fitness  for  specific  occupation.  Work  is,  however,  being  done 
every  year  which  brings  this  technical  subject  nearer  to  possibilities 
of  practical  use,  and  it  is  important  that  the  labor  exchange  be 
kept  in  close  connection  with  the  best  that  is  being  done. 

(4)  The  statistical  bureau  of  the  department  of  labor  should  be 
represented.    This  connection  should  be  very  close  in  order  to  put 
the  statistics  of  the  employment  bureau  itself  upon  a  comparative 
basis,  and  in  order  to  give  the  soundest  kind  of  vocational  guidance — 
accurate  occupational  information. 

(5)  and  (6)  The  advisory  committee  should  also  include  repre- 
sentatives both  of  the  employer  and  of  the  employee.     No  labor 
exchange  can  be  effective  unless  it  handles  real  business.     Close 
touch  with  existing  opportunities  for  work  is  thus  the  first  essential. 
It  is  also  important  to  have  the  organized  worker  represented  to 
avoid  mistakes  in  dealing  with  the  tremendous  field  for  contro- 
versy, the  apprenticeship  cases.    In  a  committee  of  the  size  already 
indicated    there    should    be   at    least    two    representatives    of    the 
employers,  and  two  of  the  workers. 

FUTURE  POSSIBILITIES 

With  such  a  committee  the  juvenile  department  can  develop  a 
forward  policy  which  is  not  limited  merely  to  finding  employment 
for  some  of  the  children  who  are  seeking  it.  It  can  become  some- 
thing more  than  a  makeshift,  something  more  than  the  organization 
upon  a  large  scale  of  the  present  blundering  into  jobs.  With  a 
policy  which  seeks  to  prevent  the  exploitation  of  children  and  to 
protect  adult  labor  from  juvenile  competition,  developed  in  detail 
by  such  a  committee,  the  juvenile  department  of  the  labor  ex- 
change will  be  an  important  step  in  the  present  nation-wide  effort 
to  prevent  unemployment.  And,  aided  by  the  development  of  con- 
tinuation schools,  and  by  the  kind  of  legislation  which  will  make 
it  necessary  for  the  child  to  return  to  the  labor  certificate  office 
between  jobs,  the  juvenile  labor  exchange  will  begin  to  make  pos- 
sible an  adequate  conservation  of  adolescent  life  and  energy. 


REDISTRIBUTION  OF  PUBLIC  WORK  IN  OREGON 


FRANK  O'HARA 
Catholic  University  of  America,   Washington,  D.   C. 


In  all  the  larger  cities  of  the  country  each  winter  finds  a  consid- 
erable number  of  workers  out  of  work  and  out  of  money.  The 
phenomenon  is  by  no  means  a  new  one,  but  the  consciousness  -that 
the  responsibility  for  this  state  of  affairs  rests  not  alone  upon  these 
unfortunate  individuals,  but  upon  the  whole  industrial  machine  as 
well,  is  of  comparatively  recent  growth.  In  the  city  of  Portland, 
Oregon,  this  consciousness  of  social  responsibility  for  the  evil  was 
last  winter  more  keenly  alive  than  ever  before.  In  certain  quar- 
ters, as  was  to  be  expected,  it  exhibited  itself  in  the  form  of  an 
unreasoning  hysteria  which  demanded  a  root  and  branch  over- 
turning of  the  social  structure.  In  all  quarters  there  was  more 
than  a  merely  academic  interest  in  the  problem.  Therefore,  when 
the  Oregon  Committee  of  the  Association  on  Unemployment  un- 
dertook a  study  of  the  question  it  was  met  on  all  sides  by  a  spirit 
of  cooperation  and  good  will. 

In  general  outline,  the  problem  of  unemployment  in  Oregon  is 
the  same  as  the  problem  of  unemployment  elsewhere,  with  minor 
differences  due  to  distinguishing  local  characteristics  such  as  cli- 
mate and  distribution  of  occupations.  Perhaps  a  word  concerning 
the  physiography  of  the  state  will  be  in  place  here.  The  Cascade 
range  of  mountains  which  runs  north  and  south  across  Oregon  cuts 
the  state  into  two  unequal  sections,  leaving  a  strip  about  120  miles 
wide  between  this  range  and  the  ocean,  and  somewhat  more  than 
.twice  as  much  to  the  east  of  the  mountains.  In  the  latter  region  the 
climate  is  dry  and  the  winters  cold,  whereas  to  the  west  of  the 
mountains  there  is  much  rainfall,  especially  during  the  wet  season 
which  lasts  from  October  to  March,  and  the  winters  are  always  mild. 
The  bulk  of  the  population  resides  west  of  the  Cascades,  and  it  is 
here  for  the  present  that  the  state's  social  problems  are  to  be  found 
and  faced. 

In  Oregon,  as  elsewhere,  the  unemployment  problem  arises  not 


Redistribution  of  Public  Work  in  Oregon  239 

because  there  is  an  absolute  lack  of  work  to  be  done,  but  rather 
because  there  is  a  bad  distribution  of  the  opportunities  to  work; 
because  there  is  an  irregular  distribution  of  work  through  the  years 
and  through  the  seasons.  In  Oregon,  for  example,  according  to 
the  figures  of  the  latest  federal  census,  there  were  employed  in 
manufacturing  industries  in  January  only  75  per  cent  of  the 
number  employed  in  September;  that  is,  there  was  a  demand 
for  one-third  more  workers  in  the  busiest  summer  month  than  in 
the  dullest  winter  month.  The  winter  army  of  the  unemployed 
was  similarly  augmented  by  recruits  from  agriculture,  trade,  trans- 
portation, mining,  and  fishing.  Manifestly,  if  weather  conditions 
would  only  allow,  it  would  be  desirable  to  shift  work  from  summer 
to  winter  to  permit  of  a  steadier  running  of  the  industrial  machine. 
But  modern  industry  has  a  way  of  running  at  high  speed  and  de- 
manding much  labor  when  the  prospect  of  profits  is  good,  and  of 
slackening  the  pace  and  discharging  the  employees  when  the  pros- 
pect of  losses  appears;  for  profits  are  the  one  cardinal  virtue  of 
industry  and  losses  the  unpardonable  sin.  Private  industry,  as  a 
general  thing,  will  not  of  its  own  initiative  consult  the  welfare  of 
labor  any  further  than  is  warranted  by  the  best  interests  of  the 
balance  sheet.  And  so  it  appeared  to  the  Oregon  Committee  that 
while  other  phases  of  the  question  were  not  at  all  to  be  neglected,  it 
would  be  well  to  see  whether  and  to  what  extent  opportunities  for 
work  could  be  shifted  from  the  summer  to  the  winter,  not  alone  in 
private  industry  but  in  public  employment  as  well,  for  here  the 
considerations  of  profit  and  loss  are  not  necessarily  paramount. 

A  further  reason  for  raising  the  question  of  the  desirability  of 
shifting  public  work  from  the  busy  to  the  dull  season  was  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  in  public  work  as  well  as  in  private  industry 
employment  is  irregular.  The  government,  national,  state,  county, 
and  municipal,  contributes  its  share  to  the  unemployment  problem 
by  reason  of  the  fact  that  public  work  is  practically  at  a  standstill 
in  the  winter  time.  Thus,  for  example,  ten  counties  of  Oregon 
reported  that  they  furnished  employment  at  road  work  to  151 
laborers  through  the  month  of  January,  1914,  and  to  2,025  through 
the  month  of  June.  The  county  of  Multnomah,  in  which  the  city 
of  Portland  is  situated,  employed  upon  the  stretch  of  the  Columbia 
river  highway  which  falls  within  that  county,  eighty  men  in  Jan- 
uary and  660  in  June.  In  the  city  of  Portland  there  were  employed 
on  street  construction  work  885  men  in  August,  1913,  only  122  men 


240  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

in  March  of  the  present  year,  and  565  men  in  June.  In  the  smaller 
town  of  Eugene  the  number  employed  on  street  construction  was 
in  January  of  the  present  year  none;  in  May,  ninety- four.  Other 
Oregon  towns  show  similar  figures  for  this  sort  of  work.  In  the 
case  of  sewer  construction  the  work  Was  more  regular,  since  this 
work  is  less  affected  by  adverse  weather  conditions.  The  numbers 
employed  in  Portland  on  sewer  construction  were  January  125; 
April  172;  and  June,  190.  This  construction  work  is  usually  let 
out  by  contract  but  it  is  none  the  less  public  work,  and  if  it  were 
found  desirable  pressure  might  be  brought  to  effect  a  redistribution 
of  it  throughout  the  year.  Maintenance  work,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  usually  performed  directly  for  the  municipality  without  the  inter- 
mediation of  a  contractor.  This  labor  is,  as  a  rule,  rather  steadily 
employed  through  the  year,  but  the  numbers  are  comparatively 
small  and  have  little  influence  on  the  totals. 

In  other  forms  of  public  work  involving  the  employment  of  con- 
siderable labor,  such  as  bridge  construction,  park  work,  irrigation, 
jetty  work,  and  the  construction  of  public  buildings,  the  same  state 
of  affairs  was  found,  as  a  rule,  to  exist,  namely,  a  heavy  summer 
demand  for  labor  with  a  very  considerable  slackening  up  or  a  com- 
plete cessation  in  winter. 

The  committee  undertook  by  means  of  a  questionnaire  to  find  out 
what  public  works  were  contemplated  for  the  immediate  future 
by  the  various  counties  and  municipalities  of  the  state,  and  the 
extent  to  which  it  would  be  possible  to  defer  the  execution  of  these 
works  until  the  late  fall  or  the  winter.  County  judge  after 
county  judge  (county  judges  are  chairmen  of  county  commissioners) 
and  mayor  after  mayor  replied  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  defer 
the  work.  Pretty  generally  an  exception  was  made  in  the  case  of 
sewer  construction  in  the  section  of  the  state  west  of  the  Cascades, 
but  even  in  this  case  the  opinion  was  general  that  sewer  construc- 
tion work  in  winter  would  be  done  at  an  increased  cost.  It  may 
be  interesting  to  note  in  this  connection  that  the  opinions  of  the 
city  engineers  who  were  consulted  were  almost  uniformly  more 
favorable  to  the  equal  distribution  of  work  through  the  year  than 
were  the  opinions  of  the  officials  who  were  charged  with  the  ex- 
penditure of  the  funds.  While  on  all  sides  a  pious  wish  was  ex- 
pressed that  something  might  be  done  in  the  way  of  regularizing 
employment  on  public  works  a  great  variety  of  reasons  were  ad- 
vanced to  show  that  nothing  of  importance  could  be  done. 


Redistribution  of  Public  Work  in  Oregon  241 

In  the  first  place  there  was  an  unusually  large  number  of  people 
out  of  work  this  summer,  and  it  was  difficult  or  impossible  to  give 
cogent  reasons  why  work  which  might  be  done  at  that  time,  when  the 
conditions  of  work  were  ideal,  should  be  deferred  until  the  more 
disagreeable  winter  season.  The  same  argument  was  used  against 
anticipating  next  summer's  work  during  the  present  winter. 

When  it  was  suggested  that  a  plan  should  be  worked  out  whereby 
the  construction  of  roads  and  streets  and  sewers  and  public  buildings 
should  be  rationally  distributed  through  a  series  of  years  in  such 
a  way  as  to  provide  for  at  least  as  much  work  in  the  dull  years  of 
the  industrial  cycle  as  in  the  busy  years,  and  if  possible  more,  the 
idea  was  favorably  received  by  the  engineers,  but,  as  a  general  thing, 
it  was  rejected  by  practical  politicians.  "The  people  want  what  they 
want  when  they  want  it,"  was  the  objection.  In  dull  years  they  do 
not  feel  like  contracting  debts,  whereas  when  they  are  more  pros- 
perous they  are  more  alive  to  the  need  of  improvements.  This 
view  was  held  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases 
public  improvements  are  paid  for  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of 
bonds  which  are  gradually  redeemed  through  a  long  term  of  years. 

In  the  construction  of  new  roads  where  considerable  cuts  have 
to  be  made  the  work  can  be  done  as  well  and  as  economically  in 
western  Oregon  in  winter  as  in  summer.  In  such  cases  no  technical 
objection  can  be  raised  against  having  the  work  done  in  winter. 
But  this  involves  looking  and  planning  ahead,  and  such  planning  is 
outside  the  line  of  least  resistance  which  is  usually  followed  by  offi- 
cials when  public  sentiment  is  quiescent. 

The  quarrying  and  crushing  of  rock  for  the  roads  is  another  in- 
stance of  work  which  can  be  done  as  cheaply  in  winter  as  in  summer 
in  Oregon.  Instead,  however,  of  keeping  the  quarries  going  steadily 
through  the  year,  or  of  concentrating  on  the  work  in  the  winter  time, 
the  rock  is  usually  crushed  as  it  is  needed.  This  means  that  very 
little  of  the  work  is  done  in  the  winter  time.  The  reason  that  it 
cannot  be  crushed  and  stored  in  large  quantities  in  the  winter  time 
is  that  the  existing  bunkers  are  not  large  enough  to  hold  large  quan- 
tities. To  build  large  bunkers  would  be  expensive  and  it  is  impos- 
sible to  haul  the  stone  directly  to  the  place  where  it  is  to  be  used  in 
the  following  summer,  because  it  is  not  known  where  it  will  be 
wanted.  Morover,  it  is  often  not  feasible  to  haul  heavy  loads  of 
rock  over  country  roads  in  the  wet  season.  This  latter  objection 
might  be  overcome  by  working  out  a  definite  plan  of  road  construe- 


242  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

tion  and  proceeding  with  the  surfacing  from  the  quarries;  but 
this,  too,  would  involve  planning  ahead,  and  public  sentiment  does 
not  yet  demand  this. 

Street  and  sewer  construction  work  are  usually  done  by  con- 
tract, and  this  constitutes  an  added  reason  why  it  is  more  expensive 
in  the  winter  time  and  hence  why  it  is  avoided  at  that  time.  While 
the  cold  does  not  constitute  an  insuperable  objection  to  doing  this 
kind  of  work  in  winter  in  Oregon,  the  wet  weather  interferes  more 
or  less  seriously  with  various  parts  of  the  work.  Thus,  where  the 
soil  is  a  sticky  clay,  the  grading  is  interfered  with  and  can  be  done 
only  at  an  increased  cost,  although  where  the  soil  is  sandy,  winter 
grading  is  at  no  disadvantage.  Then,  too,  there  are  certain  sur- 
facings  which  cannot  be  applied  well  or  which  cannot  be  applied 
at  all  in  wet  weather,  and  it  would  be  inconvenient  or  disappointing 
to  depend  on  the  dry  days  that  are  scattered  through  the  rainy  sea- 
son. Morover,  private  contractors,  in  bidding  for  public  work,  un- 
dertake to  have  the  work  completed  within  a  definite  period.  On  ac- 
count of  the  uncertainties  of  the  weather  in  the  wet  season  they 
are  compelled  to  ask  a  higher  price  for  the  work  as  an  insurance 
against  the  worst  conditions.  If  the  muncipalities  were  doing  this 
work  directly  instead  of  through  contractors  this  insurance  would 
be  unnecessary.  But  this  advantage  of  construction  directly  by  the 
city  is  to  be  balanced  over  against  certain  well  known  disadvantages. 
One  of  these  disadvantages  is  the  fact  that  many  muncipalities  have 
adopted  the  practice  of  paying  a  standard  wage  independently  of 
the  condition  of  the  labor  market.  Thus,  the  city  of  Portland  pays 
a  minimum  wage  of  $3  a  day  for  its  labor.  The  contractors  get 
the  same  kind  of  labor  for  $1.50,  $1.75,  or  $2  a  day.  Thus  the 
contractors  have  a  considerable  margin  of  advantage  in  costs  over 
the  city.  There  are  labor  leaders  who  consider  this  condition  of 
affairs  preferable  to  a  wider  employment  of  labor  by  the  city  at  a 
wage  lower  than  $3. 

An  industry  in  Oregon  especially  suitable  for  winter  work  is  the 
clearing  of  cut  over  and  logged  off  land.  In  fact,  the  wet  season  is 
the  only  time  when  this  clearing  is  practicable.  There  are  millions 
of  acres  of  this  land  in  the  state  which  will  ultimately  provide  homes 
for  a  prosperous  rural  population,  but  which  are  not  easily  sub- 
dued by  the  individual  settler.  The  Oregon  Committee  of  the  As- 
sociation strongly  urged  the  council  of  the  city  of  Portland  and 
the  county  commissioners  of  Multnomah  county  as  well  as  the  state 


Redistribution  of  Public  Work  in  Oregon  243 

board  of  control  to  investigate  the  possibilities  of  organizing  and 
financing  the  situation  so  as  to  bring  together  the  winter  army  of 
the  unemployed  and  these  boundless  opportunities  for  work.  The 
committee  especially  called  attention  to  similar  work  done  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Seattfe  a  year  ago  under  the  leadership  of  Mr. 
Pauly  of  the  Hotel  de  Gink.  The  general  idea  appealed  to  the  Port- 
land City  Council,  and  early  in  October  they  engaged  a  man  to  act 
as  a  clearing  house  between  the  unemployed  and  those  who  have 
land  to  clear.  Unfortunately,  the  city's  plan  contemplated  the  entire 
financing  of  the  enterprise  by  the  unemployed  themselves.  This 
will  undoubtedly  stand  in  the  way  of  a  very  wide  success  of  the  plan. 
More  recently  certain  members  of  the  Oregon  Committee  of  the 
Association  on  Unemployment  have  established  clearing  camps  on 
their  own  initiative  for  the  purpose  of  giving  work  to  the  unem- 
ployed. It  is  too  early  to  say  with  what  success  this  has  been 
done. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  the  mayor  of 
Astoria,  Oregon,  under  date  of  December  9,  may  be  cited  to  suggest 
the  possibilities  of  a  proper  articulation  of  public  and  private  em- 
ployment : 

The  principal  employment  in  this  vicinity  is  in  the  lumber  camps,  lumber 
mills,  and  in  the  salmon  fishing  industry.  The  salmon  industry  is  distinctly 
seasonal,  for  a  few  months  during  the  season  only,  while  the  lumber  and 
timber  industry  is  largely  seasonal,  and  dependent  largely  upon  the  immediate 
condition  of  the  lumber  market,  and  also  subject  to  the  heavy  winter  rains. 
Entirely  irrespective  of  the  merits  or  demerits  of  the  economic  doctrine, 
my  impression  is  that  the  removal  of  the  tariff  on  shingles  and  lumber  has 
proven  a  severe  blow  to  the  entire  timber  and  lumber  industry  of  the  north- 
west. Most  of  the  mills  up  and  down  the  Columbia  river  have  already  closed 
down  or  soon  will.  We  have  three  large  lumber  mills  in  Astoria,  and  all  are 
still  running,  though  all  have  either  reduced  the  number  of  hours  slightly 
or  their  wages  slightly.  Strong  efforts  are  being  made  to  keep  the  mills 
open  throughout  the  winter,  and  I  am  pleased  to  say  that  these  efforts  are 
founded  largely  on  the  good  will  of  the  mill  owners  toward  their  employees, 
though  few  of  the  employees  understand  or  believe  that.  The  mills  are  run- 
ning at  a  loss  now. 

We  have  no  work  for  outsiders  in  Astoria.  Some  public  work  is.  now 
going  on,  on  streets,  in  the  construction  of  a  large  and  costly  public  dock, 
and  other  reclamation  work  may  possibly  be  taken  up  this  winter.  This 
public  work  has  very  materially  assisted  this  municipality,  and  for  that  rea- 
son Astoria  really  has  thus  far  hardly  felt  any  hard  times. 

In  Portland  a  majority  of  the  city  council  is  on  record  in  favor 


244  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

of  a  policy  of  regularizing  employment  on  public  works  and  of  shift- 
ing as  much  of  the  public  work  as  is  economically  feasible  to  the 
winter  months.  Mr.  Dieck,  the  efficient  commissioner  of  public 
works,  as  soon  as  the  problem  was  called  to  his  attention  by  our 
committee,  at  once  proceeded  to  make  a  study  of  the  possibility  of 
shifting  work  in  his  department  and  assured  us  that  he  would  do 
all  in  his  power  to  effect  a  wiser  distribution  of  public  work.  Mr. 
Brewster,  the  commissioner  of  public  affairs  of  Portland,  was  a 
member  of  our  committee,  and  has  given  much  careful  study  to 
the  various  phases  of  the  problem  of  unemployment.  He  can  be 
depended  upon  to  contribute  valuable  aid  towards  its  solution  from 
the  point  of  view  of  this  Association. 

A  problem  which  gives  much  concern  to  western  coast  cities  is 
what  to  do  with  the  floating  population  of  the  unemployed.  Seattle, 
Portland  and  San  Francisco  are  the  winter  resorts  of  men  from  all 
the  western  states.  Many  of  these  men  are  out  of  funds  and  must 
be  cared  for.  Those  charged  with  caring  for  them  fear  that  many 
of  the  kind  hearted  relief  plans  which  have  been  adopted  in  the  past 
have  advertised  these  cities  as  easy  places  to  get  a  living  through 
the  winter  without  work,  and  consequently  have  brought  an  undue 
share  of  the  country's  unemployed  to  the  western  coast  in  the  winter 
time.  To  offset  this  kind  of  advertising,  reports  are  sent  out  through 
the  east  from  time  to  time  warning  the  workers  against  going  west 
to  get  work.  Only  a  week  ago  such  warnings  from  San  Francisco 
appeared  in  eastern  newspapers.  Portland,  too,  has  suffered  from 
the  fear  of  being  submerged  by  the  floating  unemployed  population 
of  states  other  than  Oregon,  and  has  sometimes  treated  these  stran- 
gers less  courteously  than  Portland's  known  hospitality  would  lead 
one  to  believe.  The  purpose,  of  course,  is  to  discourage  their  coming 
to  Portland. 

Briefly,  in  conclusion,  there  is  a  considerable  amount  of  public 
work  in  Oregon  which  could  without  detriment  to  quality  or  cost 
be  shifted  from  the  busy  season  of  the  year  to  the  dull  season,  and 
from  years  of  industrial  expansion  to  years  of  industrial  depression. 
Some  of  this  shifting  will  be  proceeded  with  at  once,  but  the  bulk 
of  it  must  wait  until  the  general  public  wakes  up  to  a  realization 
of  the  nature  of  the  problem.  Even  when  this  time  comes,  too  much 
must  not  be  expected  from  this  expedient  alone.  It  must  be  con- 
sidered as  merely  one  link  in  the  chain  of  remedies, 


SEASONAL  FLUCTUATION  IN  PUBLIC  WORKS 


F.  ERNEST  RICHTER 
Harvard  University 


In  a  study  of  seasonal  fluctuations  of  employment  on  public 
works  three  questions  arise:  (i)  To  what  extent  does  the  labor 
force  under  consideration  vary  from  month  to  month?  (2)  What 
are  the  causes  of  variation?  (3)  To  what  extent,  if  at  all,  and 
how,  may  the  variation  be  lessened  and  employment  regularized  ? 

The  field  of  the  present  study  is  that  of  public  work  in  the  city 
of  Boston  and  the  metropolitan  district  thereabouts,  for  the  year 
1913.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  cover  this  field  exhaustively ;  in- 
stead, the  method  of  sampling  has  been  resorted  to,  and  figures 
gathered,  as  far  as  possible,  on  the  work  of  some  of  the  Boston 
city  departments,  some  of  those  of  three  representative  cities  in  the 
metropolitan  district,  and  a  few  of  the  state  boards  operating  around 
Boston. 

In  Boston,  the  public  works  department,  the  public  buildings  de- 
partment, and  the  schoolhouse  department  were  the  ones  covered. 
The  scope  and  functions  of  the  last  two  are  evident  from  their 
names.  The  schoolhouse  department  has  under  its  supervision  the 
erection  and  maintenance  of  public  school  buildings.  The  public 
buildings  department  does  the  same  work  for  a  number  of  other 
public  buildings,  such  as  the  city  hall,  court  houses,  and  so  on.  The 
public  works  department  is  perhaps  the  most  comprehensive  in  the 
city.  It  has  three  divisions :  highway,  sewer  and  water,  and  bridge 
and  ferry.  Again  the  last  two  explain  themselves;  the  first,  high- 
way, includes  three  "services," — paving,  sanitary  (collection  of 
ashes,  rubbish,  and  offal),  and  street  cleaning,  oiling  and  watering. 
The  three  departments  were  selected  for  the  following  reasons: 
(i)  They  give  employment  to  by  far  the  largest  amounts  of  tem- 
porary labor.  (2)  Taken  together,  they  represent  about  every  kind 
of  work  that  is  affected  by  climatic  conditions.  (3)  They  present 
varied  financial  problems.  (4)  Their  figures  were  relatively  easy 
to  obtain.  It  had  been  intended  to  include  the  park  and  recreation 


246  ^American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

department  in  the  survey,  but  this  was  given  up  for  reasons  that  will 
be  more  evident  when  the  manner  of  employing  labor  on  city  works 
has  been  noted. 

This  then  will  be  our  next  consideration.  Boston,  like  most  pub- 
lic bodies,  does  a  certain  amount  of  work  by  its  own  employees, 
or  by  direct  labor,  as  it  is  called,  and  lets  out  the  rest  to  contractors 
after  public  bidding.  The  city,  however,  differs,  from  many  others 
in  its  policy  of  introducing  practically  no  variations  in  its  permanent 
force,  save  in  the  general  direction  of  increases,  year  by  year.  A 
conspicuous  exception  to  this  rule  is  the  park  and  recreation  de- 
partment, where  in  the  late  spring,  the  summer,  and  early  fall,  the 
direct  labor  force  of  800  or  so  is  increased  by  about  one-sixth, 
because  of  the  added  burdens  attendant  on  the  opening  of  the 
bath  houses  and  the  increased  activities  in  the  parks  and  recreation 
centres.  Since  the  study  is  concerned  with  fluctuations  of  employ- 
ment, those  departments  are  of  interest  only  which  let  out  con- 
siderable work  on  contract,  because  of  the  permanence  of  the  direct 
labor  force.  It  is  chiefly  for  this  reason,  therefore,  that  those  de- 
partments studied  were  chosen;  and  it  was  for  a  similar  reason 
that  the  park  department  was  abandoned,  especially  after  it  was 
found  that  such  figures  as  might  be  obtainable  on  their  work  might 
not  be  sufficiently  accurate. 

This  leads  in  turn  to  the  questions  of  how  the  figures  to  be  pre- 
sented were  secured,  and  within  what  limits  they  are  accurate. 
Among  the  Boston  departments  the  park  department  was  again 
the  exception,  this  time  to  the  rule  that  the  city  inspectors  of  con- 
ract  jobs  render  daily  or  weekly  reports  of  the  number  of  men 
employed  by  the  contractors  on  the  work.  These  "inspectors'  force 
accounts,"  as  they  are  called,  are  kept  on  file  in  the  several  depart- 
mental offices  and  thus  provide  the  information  required.  In  the 
three  other  cities  studied,  Cambridge,  Everett,  and  Newton,  where, 
as  far  as  was  learned,  no  work  was  done  in  1913  in  the  departments 
under  survey  save  by  direct  labor,  the  city  pay  rolls  gave  the 
needed  data.  The  main  difficulties  have  been  encountered  in  study- 
ing the  work  done  by  the  various  boards  and  commissions ;  for  they 
keep  no  record  of  force  accounts,  and  the  figures  had  therefore  to 
be  obtained  from  the  contractors  who  had  done  the  work.  It  seems 
probable  that  all  the  figures  presented  are  correct  to  within  5  or  10 
per  cent.  The  sources  of  error  are  as  follows:  (i)  Personal  fac- 


Seasonal  Fluctuation  in  Public  Works  247 

tors  such  as  fallibility  of  inspectors  and  others  enter.  (2)  There 
is  lack  of  perfect  comparability  of  all  the  original  statistics,  some 
being  in  the  form  of  labor  hours,  some  in  labor  days,  some  in  labor 
weeks  or  months,  all  of  which  had  to  be  more  or  less  accurately 
reduced  to  labor  days.  (3)  Some  figures  represent  guesses  or  approx- 
imations by  contractors  or  their  office  employees,  who  would  natur- 
ally be  inclined  to  give  round  numbers,  or  at  least  integral  numbers. 
Where,  for  instance,  a  figure  of  ten  laborers  a  day  was  given  for  a 
monthly  average,  eleven  or  nine  and  three-eighths  might  have  been 
more  nearly  accurate.  The  danger  from  this  source  is  increased 
where  jobs  are  subcontracted;  and  this  consideration  was  an  impor- 
tant one  in  the  case  of  the  park  and  recreation  department.  (4) 
There  are  certain  omissions,  where  for  one  reason  or  another 
figures  could  not  be  obtained. 

Beginning  with  the  paving  service  of  the  highway  division  of 
the  Boston  Public  Works  Department,  we  find  a  permanent  force  of 
men  of  the  classes  we  are  concerned  with  of  some  700  men.  This 
figure  is  a  rough  average  of  the  675  men  in  those  classes  employed 
as  of  April  30,  1913,  and  about  715  employed  as  of  April  30,  1914, 
as  given  in  the  city  of  Boston  List  of  Employees  of  these  dates.  The 
figure  includes  such  men  as  pavers,  rammers,  stonecutters,  car- 
penters, and  so  on,  and  about  300  simply  designated  "laborers/*  be- 
sides some  seventy-five  or  eighty  inspectors  and  foremen  and 
sub  foremen.  These  700  men  are  used  wholly  for  repair  and  main- 
tenance work;  for  it  is  the  general  policy  of  the  division  to  let  out 
on  contract  new  street  work  and  to  use  almost  wholly  its  own  labor 
for  upkeep  work.  There  seem  to  be  several  reasons  for  this.  They 
include  the  better  facilities  of  contractors  for  certain  work,  the  ne- 
cessity in  a  few  cases  of  using  contractors  whose  processes  on 
patented  pavements  the  city  has  no  right  to  use;  and  above  all  the 
saving  involved.  This  last  has  become  especially  important,  per- 
haps, since  in  1913  the  then  mayor  of  Boston,  Mr.  Fitzgerald,  by  an 
executive  order  caused  the  pay  of  common  laborers  in  the  various 
departments  to  be  raised  from  $2.25  to  $2.50  a  day.  And  it  is  im- 
portant not  only  for  the  city  but  for  certain  individuals,  since  on 
assessable  jobs  of  new  street  work,  one-half  of  the  cost  of  the  new 
construction  is  borne  by  abutting  land  owners.  It  may  be  remarked 
in  passing  that  all  these  employees  are  under  civil  service.  Their 
workday  is  eight  hours  long. 


248  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

Here  are  the  monthly  figures  for  the  calendar  years  1912  and  1913 
for  labor  employed  on  paving  jobs  let  out  on  contract.  The  unit, 
as  everywhere  in  this  report,  is  the  labor  day,  or  the  employment  of 
one  laborer  for  one  day  of  eight  hours,  and  the  figures  show  the 
daily  average  number  of  labor  days  used  on  the  regular  working 
days  of  each  month  of  the  two  years.  Under  the  figure  for  each 
month  is  the  percentage  which  that  figure  is  of  the  maximum 
monthly  figure  for  that  year. 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

1912    13      24      42     170    284    364    325    347    335    349    34O      88 

Per   cent 3        6      12      47      78    100      89      95      92      96      93      24 

1913    a       a      10    108    273    386    419    387    415    310    369    135 

Per  cent  o       o       2      26      65      92    100      92      99      74      88      32 

(a)  Average  less  than  one  labor  day  a  day. 

One  is  tempted  at  first  to  compare  these  figures  with  those  for  the 
official  mean  monthly  temperatures  at  Boston  for  the  two  years, 
which  were  as  follows: 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

1912    21      28      36      47      59      68      73      69      64      57      46      39 

1913    39      28      42      48      55      68      74      71      62      56      46      38 

There  are  in  the  two  sets  of  figures  some  striking  concomitant 
variations ;  though  care  must  be  taken  not  to  infer  too  much  from 
them.  Undoubtedly,  both  directly  and  indirectly  the  climatic  is  the 
most  important  single  influence  determining  the  distribution  of  em- 
ployment of  labor  in  this  as  in  other  services  of  the  public  works 
department.  But  fiscal  and  financial  factors  enter  here  as  elsewhere. 
The  fiscal  year  of  the  city  of  Boston  ends  on  January  31.  In  the 
preceding  November  the  budget  for  the  coming  year,  with  depart- 
mental estimates  of  financial  needs,  is  submitted  to  the  mayor  for 
his  approval  within  thirty  days.  His  action  on  it  is  in  turn  subject 
to  the  approval  of  the  city  council  of  nine  members.  One-third  of 
the  members  of  this  body  are  elected  annually,  and  the  partially  new 
council,  which  is  to  act  on  the  budget  and  also  on  new  loans  for 
construction  purposes,  takes  office  and  first  sits  in  February.  It  is 
generally  April  or  even  May  before  the  bulk  at  least  of  new  con- 
struction work,  the  kind  that  is  let  out  on  contract,  can  be  fully 
planned.  Meanwhile  what  work  is  done  by  the  paving  service  is 
maintenance  work,  by  direct  labor,  on  which  can  be  spent  not  more 
than  a  third  of  what  was  so  spent  the  previous  year,  and  assessable 


Seasonal  Fluctuation  in  Public  Works  249 

construction  jobs  that  have  been  held  over  by  contractors  from  the 
preceding  autumn.  Of  these  last,  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  have 
in  recent  years  held  over  the  end  of  each  fiscal  year,  January  31 ; 
and  they  furnish  most  or  all  of  the  contractors'  employment  on 
public  works  in  the  first  three  months  of  the  calendar  year  and  some 
even  in  April  and  May.  Most  of  the  new  year's  maintenance  work, 
therefore,  continuations  of  non-assessable  construction  work,  and 
all  new  construction  work,  must  await  not  only  good  weather  but 
the  good  pleasure  of  the  mayor  and  council.  The  above  factors 
apply  largely  or  wholly  to  the  other  services  of  the  department  as 
well  as  to  the  paving  service. 

To  revert  now  to  our  labor  figures,  we  find  in  both  years  the 
maximum  employment  occurring  in  the  early  summer:  in  1912,  in 
June;  in  1913,  in  July.  There  is  a  steady  rise  before  this  period, 
but  not  a  steady  fall  afterwards.  In  1912,  for  instance,  August 
shows  a  larger  figure  than  July,  October  a  larger  figure  than  any 
one  of  the  three  preceding  months.  Again  in  1913,  September  is 
busier  than  August,  and  October,  when  a  great  deal  of  rainy  weather 
interfered  with  the  work,  is  less  busy  than  November.  In  both 
years  November  shows  up  well  and  gives  evidence  of  the  final  rush 
to  get  work  done  before  the  cold  weather  sets  in ;  and  the  steep  drop 
in  December  indicates  a  let  up  by  contractors  as  well  as  the  com- 
pletion of  contracts  and  the  absence  of  further  proposals  by  the 
city.  For  in  the  fall  the  city  accepts  bids  which  allow  the  con- 
tractors to  drop  work  in  the  winter,  setting  such  a  time  limit  that 
contractors  will  suffer  no  penalties  for  stopping  work  for  several 
months.  That  there  was  in  1912  even  as  much  work  done  in  the 
first  three  months  of  the  year  as  appears  from  the  labor  figures  is 
due  to  the  pushing  through  of  a  bridge-repairing  job  that  was  not 
interfered  with  by  the  winter  weather. 

In  the  sanitary  service  of  the  highway  division  we  find  conditions 
reversed.  This  is  a  conspicuous  case  of  a  heavy  load  in  the  winter. 
The  permanent  force  consists  of  about  550  men.  In  addition  to 
these  the  service  uses  contractors'  men  and  teams.  Clearly  there  is 
more  need  for  ash  removal  in  the  winter  than  in  the  summer.  There 
is  also  a  decline  of  about  25  per  cent,  from  January  to  June,  in  the 
number  of  men  used  under  contract  for  offal  removal,  due  in  part 
to  the  fact  that  some  of'  the  permanent  force  is  shifted  from  ash 
collection  to  offal  collection,  as  the  former  grows  lighter.  The 
figures  for  1913  for  the  sanitary  seryice  follow: 


250  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Ashes,  etc 159    180    166    160    130      97      82      66      86    114    153    184 

Offal    56      54      50      47      45      43      5O      57      5&      54      54      54 

Total    215    234    216    207    175    140    132    123    144    168    207    238 

Per  cent 90      98      91      87      73      59      55      51      60      71      87    100 

That  December  is  the  largest  month  of  the  year  in  the  total  is  due 
in  part  to  an  increase  in  the  demands  of  the  service.  This  is  at- 
tested by  the  fact  that  the  figures  for  the  early  months  of  1914  are 
somewhat  larger  than  those  for  the  corresponding  months  of  1913. 
Finally  in  the  street  cleaning,  oiling  and  watering  service,  with  a 
permanent  force  of  about  500,  we  see  again  a  heavy  summer  load, 
as  is  shown  by  these  figures  for  1913: 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Cleaning  is      20      20      21      19      15      15      17      15      15      16      14 

Oil   and   W 4        3      24      72      96    112    103      80      65      15      26      12 

Total   19      23      44      93     115     127    118      97      80      30      42      26 

Per  cent 15      18     35      73      90    100     93      76     63      24     41      20 

The  fluctuations  in  the  street  cleaning  figures  are  negligible  and 
those  in  the  figures  for  oiling  and  watering  are  self-explanatory. 
The  influence  of  a  wet  October  again  shows;  and  the  rise  in  No- 
vember is  partly  a  reflection  both  of  dryer  weather  and  of  the 
conditioning  of  certain  streets  for  the  accommodation  of  large  foot- 
ball crowds. 

The  sewer  and  water  division  is  divided  into  the  sewer  service 
and  the  water  service.  In  the  former  there  is  a  permanent  force  of 
about  375.  The  situation  is  rather  similar  to  that  in  the  paving 
service,  though  the  fluctuations  are  not  so  extreme.  The  figures 
for  1913  on  contractors'  labor  follow: 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Actual     54      29      83     128    173     137    158      93      96    120    120      40 

Per  cent 31      17      48      74    100      79      91      54      55      69      69      23 

Although  frozen  ground  does  not  lend  itself  easily  to  sewer  or 
watermain  work,  a  certain  amount  of  the  work  can  be  and  is  car- 
ried on  in  the  winter.  (This  fact  will  again  appear  in  the  work  of 
the  metropolitan  water  and  sewerage  board.)  The  drop  in  August 
and  September,  according  to  a  member  of  the  department,  is  to  be 
explained  by  a  lull  in  the  letting  of  contracts,  while  the  larger 
figures  in  the  two  following  months  show  the  results  of  a  new  batch 


Seasonal  Fluctuation  in  Public  Works  251 

of  contracts.  In  the  water  service,  which  also  has  a  permanent 
labor  force  of  about  375,  the  figures  for  1913  are: 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Actual     7        4      17      23      87     109      81      95      98      82      70      64 

Per  cent  7        4      16      21      80    100      74      87      90      75      64      59 

The-  year  1913  saw  a  relatively  small  amount  of  new  extension 
work.  Well  over  half  of  the  above  figures,  therefore,  represent 
maintenance  work  let  out  on  contract.  The  preponderance  of  the 
latter  is  especially  heavy  in  the  cold  months  at  both  ends  of  the 
year,  when,  in  any  case,  only  certain  kinds  or  stages  of  extension 
work  could  be  carried  out  save  at  increased  expense.  Total  con- 
tractors' labor  figures  for  the  division,  both  services,  follow: 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Actual     61      33     100    151    250    246    239    188    194    202     190    104 

Per  cent 24      13      40      60    100      98      96      75      78      81      76      42 

The  figures  for  the  bridge  and  ferry  division  of  the  public  works 
department  are  as  follows: 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Actual     85     100      95      85      85      50      30      25      40      40      35      40 

Per  cent  85     100      95      85      85      50      30      25      40      40      35      40 

This  division  has  under  its  control  the  erection,  maintenance  and 
operation  of  the  municipal  bridges  and  ferries.  The  above  figures 
are  all  for  bridge  construction,  and  the  maximum  comes  in  mid- 
winter and  the  minimum  six  months  later,  in  midsummer.  It 
should  be  said  at  once  that  1913  was  not  a  typical  year;  still  the 
figures  are  instructive  in  certain  regards.  It  will  be  recalled  that 
much  of  the  work  done  by  the  paving  service  in  the  first  three 
months  of  1912  was  of  the  nature  of  bridge  repairing.  Here  again 
is  brought  to  our  attention  one  class  of  work  that  permits  of  being 
done  in  the  winter.  One  single  job,  that  went  on  during  most  of 
1912,  was  carried  through  to  completion  in  1913  without  stoppage 
on  account  of  the  weather.  On  a  few  of  the  days  the  cold  was 
so  intense  or  the  snowfall  so  heavy  that,  because  of  the  human  ele- 
ment in  the  job,  work  had  to  cease;  but  the  difficulty  was  not  with 
the  materials.  In  other  words,  whereas  cold  or  rain  or  snow  will 
interfere  with  paving  work  and  masonry  work,  in  the  latitude  of 
Boston  it  has  little  effect  on  salt  water  dredging  or  pile  driving,  or 
steel  and  certain  other  types  of  structural  work.  The  finances  of 
the  work  having  been  provided  for,  neither  the  climate  nor  the  fisc 
hindered  it. 


252  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

The  permanent  force  of  wage-earners  of  the  bridge  and  ferry 
division  consists  mainly  of  such  persons  as  draw  tenders,  deckhands, 
firemen,  and  so  on.  No  figures  can  therefore  be  presented  which 
would  be  comparable  with  the  figures  given  for  the  other  services 
with  their  various  classes  of  mobile  laborers.  The  division  lets  out 
on  contract  both  maintenance  and  construction  work  and  has  no 
force  of  its  own  such  as  those  of  other  services  heretofore  con- 
sidered. 

This  completes  the  survey  of  the  public  works  department.  The 
first  two  questions — the  extent  of  fluctuations  and  the  causes 
thereof — have  been  answered.  There  has  been  some  intimation  of 
the  answer  to  the  third;  a  more  detailed  discussion  of  this  will, 
however,  be  deferred  till  later  both  for  this  department  and  for  the 
other  units  that  are  to  be  studied.  Meanwhile  there  follows  the 
grand  total  of  labor  figures  on  contract  work  for  the  whole  de- 
partment for  1913: 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Actual    380    390    465    644    898    949    938    820    873    7SO    843    543 

Per  cent  40      41      49      68      95    100      99      86      92      79      90      57 

If,  however,  we  add  to  the  above  the  permanent  force,  assuming 
this  to  be  2,500  the  year  around,  we  get  the  following  results : 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Actual    2880  2890  2965  3144  3398  3449  3438  3320  3373  3250  3343  3043 

Per  cent  83.5      84      86      91   98.5     100  99.5      96      98      94      97      88 

The  figures  to  be  presented  for  the  public  buildings  department 
are  not  so  complete  and  therefore  not  so  satisfactory  as  those  for 
the  public  works  department.  There  are  several  reasons  for  this. 
One  of  these  is  that  in  1913  the  department  kept  incomplete  inspec- 
tors' force  accounts  for  its  construction  work,  and  none  at  all  on 
repairs.  Another,  a  consequence  of  the  first,  is  that  figures  on  the 
small  jobs  on  which  it  did  not  keep  the  customary  records  were 
not  all  obtained.  The  department  spent  during  the  year  over 
$1,000,000,  of  which  nearly  three-quarters  went  for  construction. 
The  rest  went  for  repairs  ($40,000),  and  for  such  other  matters 
as  fuel  and  lighting,  cleaning  of  buildings,  elevator  service,  and 
other  items  in  the  ordinary  running  expenses  of  buildings.  Over 
$500,000  was  spent  in  the  construction  of  one  building — the  new 
city  hall  annex,  which  was  completed  only  this  past  summer.  The 
figures  given  below  are  on  about  $700,000  worth  of  construction,  or 


Seasonal  Fluctuation  in  Public  Works  253 

over  85  per  cent  of  the  total.  They  represent,  of  course,  like  all 
the  other  figures  given  in  this  report,  only  labor  put  directly  on  the 
buildings,  not  any  employed  in  the  manufacture  or  transportation 
of  materials. 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Actual     121      94    146    167    210    193    130    141     115      92    127    168 

Per  cent 58      45      70      79    100      92      62      67      55      44      60      80 

In  the  aggregate,  climatic  influences  play  a  relatively  small  part  in 
the  composition  of  these  figures.  Much  more  important  is  the  stage 
of  development  of  the  buildings.  The  drop  of  the  figures  in  Sep- 
tember and  October,  for  example,  is  largely  due  to  the  gradual 
completion  of  two  of  the  buildings  included ;  and  the  rise  in  Novem- 
ber is  a  reflection  of  a  spurt  of  activity  on  the  city  hall  annex,  which 
building  alone  accounts  for  150  of  the  168  in  December.  The 
buildings  whose  figures  contribute  to  the  totals  in  1913  were  all 
under  way  before  the  year  began;  and  they  illustrate  the  relative 
independence  of  climate  enjoyed  by  modern  steel  structural  work. 
The  difference  between  the  trends  in  building  figures  and,  say, 
in  paving  figures  is  brought  out  even  more  clearly  by  a  considera- 
tion of  employment  of  labor  in  work  for  the  schoolhouse  depart- 
ment. In  this  case  are  presented  what  are  believed  to  be  complete 
statistics  on  construction  work.  Repairs  and  maintenance  are 
entirely  excluded.  Inspectors'  force  accounts  on  construction  work 
are  faithfully  kept,  but  no  attempt  is  made  to  keep  a  record  of 
the  labor  used  on  each  of  the  multitude  of  small  jobs  .about  the 
many  school  buildings.  The  firms  engaged  on  such  jobs  for  the 
department  are  numerous,  and  any  attempt  to  get  accurate  figures 
for  this  study  would  have  been  impossible,  even  had  time  per- 
mitted. It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  in  1913  the  repair 
and  maintenance  work  accounted  for  a  third  of  the  expenditure 
of  about  $1,500,000.  Further  it  must  be  realized  that  naturally 
as  much  as  possible  of  such  repair  work  is  concentrated  in  the 
summer,  when  the  schools  are  not  in  session.  This  increases 
the  preponderance  of  summer  employment,  but  at  the  same  time 
is  so  manifestly  the  part  of  wisdom  that  it  cannot  be  considered 
alterable.  The  figures,  then,  for  construction  in  1913  follow : 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Actual     242    191    255    387    314    284    352    362    246    207    138      97 

Per  cent  63      49      66    100      81      73      91      94      64      53      36      25 

These  represent  work  on  thirteen  different  buildings  in  various 


254  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

stages  of  construction  during  the  year.  Here,  as  in  so  many  other 
places,  the  evil  effect  of  February  on  operations  can  be  seen; 
but  even  so  the  labor  employed  was  about  half  of  that  employed 
in  April,  the  busiest  month,  and  some  of  the  difference  was  due 
to  financial  as  well  as  to  climatic  causes. 

In  1913  work  was  slow  in  getting  started,  and  figures  for  1914 
would  probably  show  a  much  more  rapid  rise  after  the  beginning 
of  the  new  fiscal  year.  This  department,  like  the  others,  has  two 
sources  of  income — taxation  and  loans — and  must  await  action  by 
the  city  council  for  new  grants  from  either  source.  Like  all  de- 
partments, however,  where  considerable  money  is  raised  each  year 
by  loans,  it  can  and  does  provide  for  keeping  sufficient  funds  avail- 
able over  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year  so  that  construction  need  not 
be  halted;  and  unlike  the  paving  service  it  is  not  so  largely  at 
the  mercy  of  the  weather  in  its  work. 

Conditions  in  Cambridge,  Everett  and  Newton  are  quite  different 
from  those  in  Boston;  and  the  cities  are  essentially  different  from 
one  another  in  a  number  of  ways.  Cambridge  had  in  1910,  accord- 
ing to  the  federal  Census  of  that  year,  a  population  of  104,839. 
It  combines  features  of  a  university  town  with  those  of  a  manu- 
facturing city;  those  of  an  old  New  England  town  with  those  of 
a  city  which  in  1910  had  a  population  only  24.4  per  cent  of  which 
was  native  white  of  native  parentage.  Everett,  a  much  newer  city, 
which  as  late  as  1880  had  a  population  of  only  4,000,  in  1910 
boasted  33,484  inhabitants,  almost  a  third  of  whom  were  native 
white  of  native  parentage.  It  is  to  a  good  extent  a  middle  and 
lower  class  city,  is  not  one  of  the  most  attractive  suburbs  of 
Boston,  and  makes  not  a  great  deal  of  effort  to  build  up  a  system 
of  parks  or  parkways  or  driveways.  Newton,  one  of  the  prettiest 
and  oldest  of  the  suburbs,  on  the  other  hand,  with  an  area  larger 
than  that  of  Cambridge,  though  its  population  in  1910  was  under 
40,000,  has  long  stretches  of  highways  and  driveways,  and  spends 
considerable  money  each  year  in  so-called  "forestry"  work.  It  is 
the  most  American  of  the  three  cities,  with  a  native  white  element 
of  native  parentage  equal  to  about  40  per  cent  of  its  total  popu- 
lation, and  is  essentially  a  residential  city.  The  effects  of  the 
industrial  and  physical  characteristics  of  the  three  communities 
is  to  be  seen  in  their  employment  of  labor  in  the  departments  under 
survey. 

It   should   be  borne   in   mind   that   these   cities    depend   almost 


Seasonal  Fluctuation  in  Public  Works  255 

entirely  on  the  direct  employment  of  labor  for  both  construction 
and  maintenance  of  their  public  works.  The  Cambridge  Water 
Department,  for  example,  has  not  let  a  contract,  save  for  materials, 
for  about  thirty  years.  All  three  cities  in  1913  paid  their  common 
labor  $2.25  a  day;  Cambridge  is  at  present  writing  going  onto 
the  $2.50  scale. 

The  figures  for  the  Cambridge  departments  studied  are: 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Street    267    268    239    335    347    35 1     3^5    385    387    392    400    325 

Per  cent  67      67      60      84      87      88      91      96      97      98    100      81 

Parks    49      46      32      38      50      60      70      70      57      57      58      58 

Per  cent  70      66      46      54      71      86    100    100      81      81      83      83 

Water 83      78      84      85      93      95      96"      97      96      94      95      93 

Per  cent  86      80      87      88      96      98      99100      99      97      98      96 

Sewer    15      15      75      75      75      75      75      75      75      75      75      75 

Per  cent  .  20      20    100    100    100    100    100    100    100    100    100    100 


Total     414    407    430    533    565    581    606    627    615    618    628    551 

Per  cent  66      65      68      85      90      92      96  99.9      98      98    100      88 

The  Cambridge  fiscal  year  ends  on  March  31.  The  March  slump 
in  the  street  department  seems  to  be  due  in  part  to  the  exhaustion  of 
funds  at  that  time,  just  as  the  abrupt  rise  in  April,  made  necessary 
by  spring  work,  was  made  possible  by  the  beginning  of  the  new 
year.  The  street  department,  like  the  highway  division  of  the 
Boston  Public  Works  Department,  handles  all  the  work  connected 
with  the  streets,  from  construction  to  cleaning.  The  notable  regu- 
larity, from  April  to  November,  inclusive,  is  in  some  degree  due 
to  the  fact  that  neither  of  these  services — new  construction  or 
cleaning — is  very  actively  pushed,  so  that  the  steady  increase  comes 
in  good  measure  from  such  maintenance  and  repair  work  as  is 
done.  Snow  work  of  course  lifts  up  the  figures  in  January  and 
February.  In  the  park  department  activities  include  such  matters 
as  parkway  construction,  moth  destruction,  tree  preservation,  and 
provision  for  recreation.  The  city  makes  use  of  school  yards  for 
playgrounds  during  July  and  August,  and  the  figure  for  each  of 
these  months  would  be  swelled  by  some  thirty,  were  the  playground 
workers  included  in  the  total.  Moths — brown-tails  and  their 
kindred — account  for  much  employment  of  labor  in  a  great  many 


256  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

New  England  towns,  and  Cambridge  and  Newton,  among  others, 
are  at  a  great  expense  to  fight  them.  The  work  goes  on  not  only 
in  the  spring  and  early  summer  but  in  the  late  fall  and  early 
winter;  and  this  more  than  accounts  for  November  and  December 
showing  slightly  larger  figures  than  the  preceding  two  months, 
and  also  contributes  to  January  employment.  The  minimum  em- 
ployment of  labor  is  found  in  the  first  three  or  four  months  of 
the  year,  when  a  small  force  is  kept  to  do  what  little  work  is 
possible  and  necessary  about  the  parks.  In  two  weeks  of  March 
and  in  one  in  April,  only  twenty-seven  laborers  were  on  the  pay 
roll  of  the  department. 

The  situation  in  the  water  and  sewer  departments  is  radically 
different  from  that  in  the  two  just  studied.  In  both  we  find  a 
regularity  hardly  disturbed  except  by  the  showing  of  the  first  two 
months  of  the  year  in  the  sewer  department.  It  is  a  definite 
policy  of  the  water  department  to  keep  more  men  on  its  rolls  in 
the  winter  than  are  actively  engaged,  because  of  the  need  felt 
for  an  adequate  emergency  force.  The  smallest  figure  for  the 
year  for  this  department  was  seventy  in  one  week  in  February, 
and  the  largest  ninety-eight  in  each  of  two  weeks  in  August.  In 
the  sewer  department  we  find  a  policy  unparalleled  by  that  of 
any  other  surveyed.  The  department  aims  to  keep  a  steady  force 
throughout  the  year  for  its  construction  and  maintenance  work, 
save  for  the  two  months  in  the  winter,  when  construction  work 
meets  with  the  greatest  difficulties.  For  these  months  the  depart- 
ment arbitrarily  cuts  down  its  force  to  such  a  small  number  as 
the  fifteen  indicated  above,  for  maintenance  work. 

For  the  city  of  Everett  the  totals  of  the  figures  for  the  correspond- 
ing departments,  for  1913,  follow: 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Actual     104      65      73     119    123     180    209    224    174    123     144    131 

Per  cent  46      29      33      53      55      80      93     100      78      55      64      58 

In  this  case  all  the  figures  have  been  bunched  together,  chiefly 
because,  especially  in  the  park  department,  figures  were  very  small. 
The  totals  show  much  greater  relative  fluctuations  than  do  the 
Cambridge  figures;  for  whereas  in  the  latter  city  the  minimum 
is  over  six-tenths  of  the  maximum,  here  it  is  barely  three-tenths. 
Nor  does  Cambridge  show  the  large  fluctuations  in  the  autumn 
that  Everett  does.  In  the  figures  for  both  cities  the  most  important 
item  is  the  street  department,  which  furnishes  also  the  widest 


Seasonal  Fluctuation  in  Public  Works  257 

fluctuations.  Everett  is  less  densely  populated  than  Cambridge 
and  less  completely  laid  out,  and  is  growing  at  a  rate  which  gave 
an  increase  for  the  decade  1900-1910  of  over  37  per  cent,  while 
the  increase  for  Cambridge  was  only  14  per  cent.  Naturally, 
therefore,  the  street  department  has  relatively  more  new  construc- 
tion work  than  has  the  Cambridge  department,  and  hence  varies 
its  labor  force  more  widely.  The  fiscal  year  for  Everett  ends  on 
December  31.  Until  new  appropriations  are  made,  each  department 
may  spend  for  maintenance  one-sixth  of  what  it  spent  the  whole 
preceding  year.  Meanwhile  city  elections  take  place  in  December 
and  appropriations  are  possible  early  in  the  year.  Climatic  in- 
fluences and  the  pleasure  of  departmental  heads  play  more  important 
parts  there  in  determining  when  new  work  shall  begin  than  is  the 
case  in  Boston  and  Cambridge. 

The  striking  difference  between  Everett  and  Newton,  despite  a 
difference  in  population  of  only  5,000  or  6,000,  is  reflected  in  a 
comparison  of  the  above  figures  for  Everett  and  the  following  for 
Newton : 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.Nov.Dec. 

Water     42      28      26      36      40      49      49      50      47      51      61      54 

Per  cent  69      46      43      59      66      80      80      82      77      84    100      89 

Sewer    42      39      42      45      45      So      76      71      83    m      94     08 

Per  cent 38      35      38      41      41      45      69      64      75    100      85      88 

Parks    63      58      58      63      79      99      38      39      3<5      36      41      S3 

Per  cent 64      59      59      64      80    100      38      39      36      36      41      54 

Street    171     181     185     189    195    192    203    219    209    203    209    178 

Per  cent  78      82      84      86      89      88      93    100      95      93      95      81 

Total     318    306    311    333    359    390    366    379    375    401    405    383 

Per  cent  78      75      77      82      89      96      90      94      93      99    100      95 

In  the  first  place,  the  daily  average  employment  of  labor  (in  labor 
days),  for  1913,  in  Everett  was  only  baout  140,  whereas  in 
Newton  it  was  about  360.  The  monthly  maxima  are  respectively 
224  and  405 ;  the  minima,  sixty-five  and  306,  which  are  respectively 
three-tenths  and  three-fourths  of  the  corresponding  maxima.  This 
shows  far  greater  regularity  of  employment  for  Newton  than  for 
Everett.  For  both,  the  minima  are  in  February,  the  month  which 
more  than  any  other  has  shown  throughout  this  report  minimum 


258  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

figures  for  employment  of  labor.  The  maximum,  however,  comes 
for  Everett  in  August ;  Newton,  like  Cambridge,  shows  its  maximum 
in  November. 

If  the  Newton  figures  be  analyzed  by  themselves,  some  old 
acquaintances  will  be  met.  First,  in  each  department  the  minimum 
occurs  in  one  of  the  first  three  months  of  the  year.  Newton's 
fiscal  year,  like  that  of  Everett,  coincides  with  the  calendar  year, 
and  the  city  elects  new  officials  in  December;  climatic  influences 
must  again  be  assigned  considerable  importance  in  determining  em- 
ployment of  labor  in  these  months.  Secondly,  in  the  park  depart- 
ment we  see  the'influence  of  the  work  of  moth  destruction,  begin- 
ning late  in  the  year,  and  above  all  the  influence  of  cessation  thereof, 
in  the  abrupt  drop  from  June  to  July.  In  the  street  department 
there  is  once  more  a  slump  in  rainy  October.  Meanwhile,  in  the 
first  eight  months  of  the  year  the  rise  to  a  maximum  in  August  is 
quite  steady,  save  for  a  small  drop  in  June,  and  the  trend  is  not 
unlike  that  of  the  figures  for  the  highway  division  of  the  Boston 
Public  Works  Department.  In  the  sewer  work  a  curious  abnor- 
mality is  to  be  found  in  the  presence  of  the  maximum  in  October, 
and  the  compression  of  almost  half  the  year's  activities  into  the  last 
four  months.  This  is  due  to  some  extension  work  that  was  under- 
taken at  that  time,  while  maintenance  and  repair  work  continued. 
In  the  same  months  also  came  increased  activity  in  the  water  de- 
partment. Throughout  the  consideration  of  these  figures  of  New- 
ton the  large  territorial  extent  of  the  city  must  be  borne  in  mind  as 
affecting  greatly  the  amount  of  labor  required  to  be  employed.  A 
large  number  of  miles  of  highways  and  water  mains  and  sewers 
require  constant  upkeep  and  additions,  and  in  general  attention  en- 
tailing an  expense  per  capita  far  exceeding  that  for  a  city  like 
Everett,  about  equally  populous  but  much  smaller  in  area.  Relative 
regularity  of  employment  of  labor  is  under  those  conditions  not 
only  possible  but  necessary  and  actual ;  though  Newton,  using  very 
largely  direct  labor,  has  no  such  definite  policy  as  that  of  Boston  of 
maintaining  a  permanent  force  of  men.  Employees  of  Newton,  like 
all  others  with  whom  this  report  is  concerned,  except  contractors' 
employees,  are  under  civil  service. 

The  final  division  of  this  report  is  concerned  with  the  work  of 
some  of  the  boards  and  commissions  operating  in  the  metropolitan 
district.  The  main  state  boards  for  the  purposes  of  such  a  survey 
as  this  are  the  metropolitan  water  and  sewerage  board,  the  metro- 


Seasonal  Fluctuation  in  Public  Works  259 

politan  park  commission,  the  directors  of  the  port,  the  Massachusetts 
Highways  Commission,  and  the  harbor  and  land  commissioners. 
The  function  of  the  highways  commission  is  to  construct  and  main- 
tain state  roads  in  other  than  urban  communities.  It  therefore 
practically  never  undertakes  work  in  the  metropolitan  district,  and 
hence  will  not  concern  us.  The  harbor  and  land  commissioners  for- 
merly had  under  their  supervision  every  harbor  and  inland  navig- 
able body  of  water  in  the  commonwealth.  At  present,  however,  the 
port  of  Boston  is  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  port  directorate,  as 
far  as  the  commonwealth,  as  against  the  federal  government,  is 
concerned;  and  with  that  transfer  went  most  of  the  interest  of  the 
harbor  and  land  commission  for  the  purposes  of  this  report.  Some 
work  it  did  do  in  1913  in  the  metropolitan  district;  but  the  jobs 
were  so  small  and  so  scattered  that  the  figures  would  be  of  no 
significance. 

The  metropolitan  water  and  sewerage  board  will  therefore  claim 
first  attention.  This  body  is  empowered  to  take  charge  of  water 
and  sewer  services  for  any  city  in  the  metropolitan  district  that 
wishes  to  put  itself  under  the  board's  jurisdiction  in  these  regards. 
It  has  a  fairly  permanent  force  which  in  1913,  according  to  the  an- 
nual report  for  that  year,  averaged  about  400  men,  other  than  clerks 
and  officials  and  members  of  the  engineering  staff.  The  maximum 
employment  came  in  August,  the  minimum  in  February,  when  about 
three- fourths  as  many  laborers  were  directly  employed  as  in  August. 
Practically  all  construction  work  is  let  out  to  public  bidders.  There 
are  no  definitely  fixed  appropriations,  year  by  year.  Money  for 
the  work  comes  from  two  sources:  loans  and  budgetary  appropri- 
ations. Income  from  the  former  is  for  construction  purposes ;  that 
from  the  latter  is  for  maintenance  and  is  reimbursed  to  the  com- 
monwealth, together  with  interest  and  sinking  fund  requirements, 
by  assessments  on  the  cities  and  towns  supplied  by  the  board.  The 
loans  for  the  construction  fund  are  authorized  far  enough  in  ad- 
vance so  that  the  board  need  not  within  any  one  year  time  its 
work  by  legislative  action.  With  maintenance  appropriations,  how- 
ever,— and  in  1913  these  amounted  to  $727,000,  as  against  some 
$445,000  spent  from  the  construction  fund — the  fiscal  factor  is 
of  importance  in  determining  when  work  is  to  be  carried  on. 
Though  the  fiscal  year  for  the  commonwealth  ends  on  November 
30  and  the  legislative  year  begins  on  January  i,  new  appropriations 
are  not  available  before  April  or  May.  This  fact  involves  the  chief 


260  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

or  only  possibility  of  change  from  present  conditions  of  distribu- 
tion of  employment,  since  ground  conditions  are  the  main  determi- 
nant thereof,  and  the  climate  peculiarly  significant  in  this  board's 
work.  The  figures  on  labor  employed  by  contractors,  during  1913, 
follow : 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Actual 93      95     uz    US     130    150    201     150    123     121     120      87 

Per  cent  46      47      56      58      65      75    100      75      62      61      60      43 

These  figures,  and  all  that  are  to  follow  for  contractors'  labor,  were 
secured  from  contractors  with  the  stipulation  that  individual  figures 
would  not  be  revealed  in  this  report,  but  lumped  in  with  all  others 
concerned.  Two  observations,  however,  may  here  be  made.  In  the 
first  place,  it  may  be  said  that  throughout  the  year  most  of  the 
labor  represents  work  done  for  the  sewerage  works,  since  in  1913 
relatively  little  construction  for  the  water  works  was  carried  on. 
And  secondly,  an  important  piece  of  sewer  construction  was  car- 
ried through  the  first  three  months  of  the  year,  which,  having  got 
under  way  during  1912,  was  not  checked  by  winter  weather,  and 
which  furnished  a  large  part  of  the  total  for  these  months.  In  this 
connection  the  dates  of  the  chief  contracts  made  and  pending  during 
1913  may  be  of  interest.  They  are  as  follows  (as  given  in  the 
board's  report)  :  1912,  March  28,  October  15,  December  26  and  30; 
1913,  February  I,  April  19,  May  I,  June  n  and  June  28.  These 
do  not  include,  nor  do  the  figures  given  above  include,  some  im- 
portant contracts  for  coal  and  for  stationary  engines. 

The  maintenance  work  and  hence  the  maintenance  force  of  the 
metropolitan  park  commission  are  larger  than  those  of  the  water 
and  sewerage  board.  The  fluctuations  of  employment  are  also 
greater.  Although  the  exact  figures  have  not  been  obtained,  the 
variation  seems  to  have  been  from  about  200  or  less,  in  January 
and  February,  to  over  400  in  midsummer,  of  the  classes  of  labor 
under  consideration.  Seasonal  influences  of  course  operate  strongly 
on  the  commission's  work.  They  have  been  noted  in  connection 
with  the  work  of  the  Boston  and  Cambridge  Park  Departments,  and 
include  the  effects  of  climate  on  road  and  parkway  building  and 
repairs,  on  the  work  of  moth  destruction,  and  on  the  need  for  the 
provision  for  recreation  and  bathing  facilities.  All  of  th(  se  are 
largely  or  wholly  independent  of  such  other  factors  as  finances.  The 
commission,  however  much  it  might  have  at  any  particular  time 


Seasonal  Fluctuation  in  Public  Works  261 

of  the  year,  cannot  economically  regularize  its  work  to  an  appreci- 
able extent. 

As  for  the  construction  work  done  under  the  commission's 
supervision  and  by  it  let  out  on  contract,  it  is  on  a  rather  small 
scale,  or  was  in  1913,  compared  with  that  of  the  other  bodies. 
Indeed,  the  one  job  of  any  size  that  year  was  the  building  of  the 
Anderson  Bridge,  over  the  Charles  River.  The  fund  for  this, 
$200,000,  was  given  by  Mr.  Lars  Anderson,  and  work  was  begun  in 

1912.  Construction  work  paid  or  contracted  for  out  of  state  loans 
amounted  to  less  than  half  this  in  cost.     The  labor  figures  are 
therefore  of  not  very  great  significance.    They  follow: 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Actual 48      44      50      90    100    123    130      85      88      84      60      64 

Per  cent 37      34      38      60      77      95     100      65      68      65      46      49 

The  Anderson  Bridge  is  of  reinforced  concrete  with  brick  trim- 
mings, and  spans  the  river  at  a  point  where  during  a  good  part  of 
the  winter  there  is  more  or  less  ice.  Work  was  affected  by  these 
factors,  as  well  as  by  the  date  of  letting  the  contract,  which  was 
in  November.  Another  factor  in  the  rate  of  work  is  evident  from 
the  following  quotation  from  the  commission's  report :  "The  bridge 
was  open  for  travel  in  the  autumn  of  1913,  when  its  usefulness 
was  well  demonstrated  by  the  comfort  and  rapidity  with  which  the 
crowds  attending  the  greater  football  games  at  the  Harvard  Stadium 
were  accommodated.  Great  credit  is  due  .  .  .  for  the  energy  and 
skill  with  which  this  result  was  accomplished." 

The  final  state  board  which  is  to  be  studied  is  the  port  directorate. 
This  body  has  practically  no  permanent  force  of  its  own,  and  lets 
all  work  out  on  contract.  To  quote  from  the  report  of  the  chief 
engineer  of  the  directorate  to  the  directors,  as  of  December  21, 

1913,  "The  principal  work  during  the  year  has  been  the  planning 
and  supervision  of  the  reconstruction  of  the  Commonwealth  Pier 
No.  5  on  the  Commonwealth  flats  at  South  Boston,  including  the 
preparation   of  plans   for  and   supervising  the   construction   of  a 
viaduct  extending  from  said  pier  to  Summer  Street ;  the  preparation 
of  plans  and  supervising  the  construction  of  the  paving  and  drain- 
ing of  Commonwealth  Pier  No.  6,  known  as  Fish  Pier,  and  the 
portion  of  Northern  Avenue  and  D  Street  adjoining  the  same";  and 
the  preparation  of  certain  other  plans  which  do  not  concern  this 
report  at  this  time.    The  labor  figures  that  are  to  be  given  for  the 
work  done  for  the  directorate  during  the  year  are  not  complete, 


262  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

the  chief  omissions  being  on  certain  dredging  jobs  done  at  several 
periods  of  the  year.  The  bulk  of  the  work  represented  by  the 
figures  was  done  on  Commonwealth  Pier  No.  5.  Contract  for  this 
was  let  on  December  9,  1912,  and  the  job  was  to  be  completed  on 
April  i,  1914.  Up  to  November  30,  1913,  the  end  of  the  fiscal 
year,  $1,635,285.90  had  been  paid  out  on  this  job  alone.  The  totals 
on  all  jobs  for  which  figures  could  be  secured  are  as  follows: 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Actual    537    580    647    9841    816    595    S5O    455    5<>7    561    836    917 

Per  cent  56      61      66    100      83      60      56      48      53      57      85      93 

The  periods  of  greatest  activity  are  the  spring  and  the  late  fall; 
August,  in  midsummer,  not  only  is  the  least  busy  month  but  pre- 
sents a  figure  less  than  50  per  cent  of  the  maximum.  The  trends 
of  the  figures  are  about  the  same,  though  of  course  the  percentages 
are  not,  if  the  figures  for  Commonwealth  Pier  alone  are  taken. 
They  do  not  need  much  comment.  The  work  on  the  building,  hav- 
ing been  begun  in  the  early  winter,  was  pushed  along  through  the 
cold  weather,  and  with  the  coming  of  mild  weather  in  April  took  on 
a  burst  of  activity.  As  certain  parts  of  the  work  were  completed, 
and  before  certain  others  could  be  begun,  the  labor  force  was  di- 
minished. With  the  coming  of  fall,  some  of  the  finishing  interior 
work  could  commence;  and  contemporaneously  other  work  was 
pushed  faster.  The  effect  of  the  spurt  in  April  and  May  is  shown 
in  the  fact  that  on  May  31  "the  first  steamship  of  the  Hamburg- 
American  line  was  docked  at  the  wharf,"  the  eastern  side  having 
been  completed. 

The  port  directorate  receives  its  income  from  three  sources :  the 
sale  of  bonds  authorized  by  state  legislative  enactment,  special  ap- 
propriations by  the  legislature,  and  miscellaneous  sources,  such  as 
leases,  permits,  and  so  on.  The  bulk  of  its  work,  certainly,  need 
not  within  any  one  year  wait  for  action  by  the  legislature,  and  on 
the  other  hand  much  of  it  is  affected  by  climatic  conditions  to  a 
less  extent  than  most  of  the  work  with  which  this  report  has  been 
concerned.  This  applies  naturally  even  more  to  dredging  and  such 
work,  in  the  open  salt  water  of  the  harbor,  than  to  some  of  its 
building  operations  or  to  dredging  of  inland  waters,  srch  as  might 
be  undertaken,  for  instance,  by  the  harbor  and  land  commissioners, 
or  to  bridge  building  by  some  other  body  that  entailed  operations  in 
frozen  rivers. 

There  remains  to  be  answered  the  third  of  the  three  questions 


Seasonal  Fluctuation  in  Public  Works  263 

raised  at  the  beginning  of  this  report,  namely,  "To  what  extent,  if 
at  all,  and  how,  may  the  variation  (in  employment  of  labor)  be 
lessened  and  employment  regularized  ?"  Clearly  there  are  two  chief 
groups  of  causes  for  these  variations,  as  they  have  presented  them- 
selves in  the  study:  climatic,  and  financial  or  administrative.  For 
the  former  there  seems  to  be  but  little  remedy.  Street  paving, 
sewer  and  water  main  extension,  road  building,  forestry  work  in 
its  various  aspects — much  of  this  either  cannot  be  done  at  all  in 
the  winter,  or  cannot  be  done  as  cheaply  as  at  other  times  of  the 
year.  Other  kinds  of  work  can  be  and  are  done  in  winter,  such 
as  structural  work  of  certain  types,  a  limited  amount  of  maintenance 
work  of  most  kinds,  dredging,  and  above  all,  underground  work  such 
as  subway  construction.  Regularization  of  public  employment, 
therefore,  must  come  largely  through  the  pushing  of  these  latter 
kinds  of  work  in  the  slack  season  of  cold  weather,  unless  the  prose- 
cution of  other  work,  even  at  added  immediate  expense  to  the  public 
treasury,  seem  to  be  the  wise  policy,  dictated  by  motives  of  net 
long-run  social  gain. 

The  other  set  of  causes  assigned  for  variations  in  employment — 
the  financial  or  administrative — bear  meanwhile  on  the  question  of 
even  the  most  rigidly  economical  regularization.  A  number  of 
contractors  have  volunteered  the  information  that  public  bodies 
do  not  take  as  much  advantage  as  they  should  of  the  fact  that  where 
work  is  possible  in  winter  without  increased  difficulties  and  costs, 
contractors  are  willing  to  shade  prices  in  order  to  keep  their  capital 
busy  and  their  labor  force  as  nearly  intact  as  possible.  The  rea- 
son for  this  failure  must  be  in  this  second  set  of  causes.  It  was 
further  said  that  whereas  in  the  spring  contractors  first  compete 
strongly  for  business  and  tend  to  bid  as  low  as  possible,  as  the 
year  advances  and  they  are  using  their  resources  perhaps  to  the 
limit  they  tend  to  bid  higher  and  higher,  because  of  a  decreasing 
desire  to  extend  their  operations.  Now  we  have  seen  that  in 
the  public  bodies  that  have  been  studied,  fiscal  years  ended  some- 
where between  November  30  and  March  31,  that  legislative  years 
began  at  some  time  after  January  i,  and  that  appropriations  gen- 
erally became  available  some  time  in  April  or  May.  This  does 
not  mean  that  it  has  been  impossible  to  spend  any  money  at  all 
before  that  time;  for,  as  we  have  seen,  loans  are  frequently  made 
available  or  maintenance  work  is  allowed  to  be  carried  on  to  such 


264  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

an  extent  that  considerable  work  of  one  kind  or  another  can 
be  done  as  soon  as  weather  conditions  permit.  It  nevertheless  seems 
true  that  there  is  room  for  the  earlier  placing  of  contracts  than  at 
present  obtains.  Just  what  is  the  extent  of  this  cannot  be  said ;  nor 
can  one  say  how  much  the  time  when  a  given  fiscal  year  ends  affects 
the  volume  of  contracts  let  for  winter  work. 

Our  conclusion  must  therefore  be  that  some  measure  of  regulari- 
zation  of  employment  of  labor  on  public  works  is  possible  for  Boston 
knd  the  metropolitan  district,  even  without  changing  either  fiscal 
or  legislative  years,  and  even  while  adhering  to  a  policy  of  strict 
economy  of  public  expenditure  for  these  works.  Greater  regulariza- 
tion  still,  in  some  directions,  may  conceivably  come  through  a  change 
in  the  fiscal  year;  almost  certainly  through  a  greater  promptness  in 
the  making  of  appropriations,  if  that  be  politically  possible.  There 
remains  the  climatic  difficulty.  Modern  engineering  is  doing  much 
to  lessen  that ;  yet  with  the  rigorous  winters  that  obtain  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Boston  there  are  likely  to  be  for  some  time  to  come  distinct 
limitations  on  regularization,  from  this  cause.  In  so  far,  however, 
as  it  is  possible  and  may  be  deemed  advisable  to  overcome  some  of 
these,  at  a  money  cost  either  slightly  or  considerably  higher  than 
normal,  the  maximum  of  regularization  will  be  attained.  This  would 
clearly  mean  the  employment  of  larger  numbers  of  men  through  the 
winter  months  than  at  present;  and  the  net  advantage  to  the  com- 
munity, as  has  been  said,  may  lie  in  the  direction  of  maximum 
regularization,  even  at  extra  money  cost. 


COMPULSORY  UNEMPLOYMENT  INSURANCE  IN 
GREAT  BRITAIN 


OLGA  S.  HALSEY 
Wellesley  College 


As  a  ten-months'  resident  of  England,  living  in  and  near  settle- 
ments, I  soon  learned  that  from  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth, 
England  has  known  the  problem  of  the  "able-bodied  poor."  This 
she  has  successively  tried  to  relieve  through  the  poor  law,  with 
its  pauper  stigma  upon  beneficiaries,  and  to  prevent  with  all  the 
power  of  the  deterrent  policy  of  the  modern  poor  law.  In  1886, 
when  10.2  per  cent  of  the  members  of  the  trade  unions  were  out 
of  work,  the  problem  became  too  great  for  the  tremendous  ma- 
chinery of  the  English  poor  law  to  handle  unaided,  and  the 
municipal  authorities  were  officially  invoked  to  give  work  for 
wages  to  the  unemployed,  upon  the  new  principle  that  those  aided 
were  not  to  be  classed  as  paupers.  The  poor  law  guardians  still 
controlled  the  situation,  since  they  alone  recommended  suitable 
cases  for  relief.  This  provision  marks  the  first  general  recognition 
of  unemployment  by  public  authorities  as  no  longer  a  personal  but 
an  industrial  problem.  The  experiment  was  not  wholly  success- 
ful; as  the  supply  of  work  was  not  sufficient,  applicants  were 
employed  but  two  or  three  days,  without  adequate  support.  The 
attraction  of  irregular  work  for  the  casual  and  work-shy  man 
compelled  the  unemployed  workman's  act,  1905,  to  place  further 
restrictions  upon  those  who  might  be  aided  in  order  that  only  the 
elite  of  the  unemployed  might  benefit.  Again  men  were  casually 
employed.  The  employment  of  men  of  all  grades  of  industrial 
experience  necessitated  expensive  supervision;  the  excessive  wage 
cost  of  slow,  inefficient  workers,  and  the  slovenly  result,  combined 
to  make  it  a  costly  experiment. 

Both  the  majority  and  minority  reports  of  the  poor  law  com- 
mission of  1909  condemned  these  methods  of  relief,  developed 
after  centuries  of  experience,  and  recommended  that  the  labor 
market  be  organized  through  labor  exchanges.  Parliament  passed 


266  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

the  labor  exchanges  act  of  1909,  empowering  the  board  of  trade 
to  establish  a  national  system  of  exchanges.  In  December,  1911, 
260  exchanges  had  been  established.  These  have  since  been  in- 
creased to  4O2,1  and  1066  local  agencies  have  been  added.  As  labor 
exchanges  are  an  essential  prerequisite  of  the  British  unemployment 
insurance,  their  activities  will  be  briefly  described  as  a  preliminary 
to  the  consideration  of  the  insurance  act. 

Use  of  the  exchange  is  of  course  entirely  voluntary.  An  ex- 
ception is  made  in  the  case  of  the  men  in  the  compulsorily  insured 
trades,  who  must  "lodge"  their  unemployment  books  at  the  exchange 
in  order  to  claim  benefit,  and  are  then  automatically  put  on  the 
files  of  those  looking  for  work.  Following  the  reorganization 
of  the  exchanges  in  1912  and  the  coming  into  operation  of  the 
insurance  act  in  July,  1912,  the  number  of  individuals  registered 
as  looking  'for  work  in  1913  as  compared  with  1911  has  increased 
24  per  cent;  the  number  of  vacancies  to  be  filled,  55  per  cent; 
the  number  of  vacancies  filled,  48  per  cent;  and  the  number  of 
individuals  placed,  39  per  cent.  The  bulk  of  this  increase  in  1913 
over  1912  occurred  in  the  insured  trades,  which  accounted  for 
6 1  per  cent  of  the  registrations.2  The  expansion  in  other  industries 
was  slight.  The  natural  interpretation  is  that  the  exchanges  are 
serving  to  break  down  the  initial  prejudice  of  the  worker  (due 
to  the  unfortunate  association  of  the  exchanges  with  the  unem- 
ployed workman  act),  and  that  the  failure  of  workers  in  noninsured 
trades  to  avail  themselves  increasingly  of  their  assistance  is  at- 
tributable to  the  retarding  influence  of  prejudice. 

The  magnitude  of  the  placing  done  by  this  network  of  exchanges, 
and  their  increasing  patronage,  may  be  realized  from  a  comparison 
of  the  October  figures  for  the  last  three  years.  The  figures  for 
1911  are  not  comparable,  because  during  1911  only  260  exchanges 
were  in  operation. 

WORK  OF  BRITISH   LABOR  EXCHANGES  *OR  THE  MONTH  ENDING  MIDDLE  OF 

OCTOBER,  1912-1914* 

191-?  1913            1914 

Daily  average  registrations  for  work 8,731  9»i'5i          12,609 

Daily  average  of  vacancies  notified  by  employers    3,898  3,841            5,33° 

Daily  average   of   vacancies    filled 3,133  2,860           4,121 

1  Board  of  Trade  Labour  Gazette,  November,  1914. 

3  Ibid.,  February,  1914. 

*  Board  of  Trade  Labour  Gazette,  November,  1914. 


Compulsory  Unemployment  Insurance  in  Great  Britain      267 

Even  more  significant  is  the  growing  number  of  vacancies  which 
the  employers  call  upon  the  exchanges  to  fill,  i.e.,  an  increase  of 
55  per  cent  from  1911  to  1913.  Part  of  this  increase  may  be 
attributed  to  the  insurance  against  unemployment,  since  59  per 
cent  of  all  the  vacancies  notified  are  in  the  insured  trades.  The 
explanation  is  that  these  employers  have  had  their  attention  more 
forcibly  called  to  the  exchanges  than  other  manufacturers.  This 
increase  in  1913  might  be  accounted  for  by  the  demand  for  workers 
in  a  year  of  exceptional  prosperity.  The  expanding  use  of  the 
exchanges  by  employers  during  the  war,  when  trade  is  bad,  and 
when  the  union  unemployed  percentage  ranged  from  7  per  cent 
in  August  to  4.5  per  cent  in  October,  effectually  disproves  this 
contention.  The  following  table  shows  the  percentage  of  gain 
in  vacancies  notified  by  employers  from  August  to  November, 
1914,  over  vacancies  notified  during  the  corresponding  months 
of  1913,  in  both  insured  and  noninswed  trades.4 

PERCENTAGE  OF  INCREASE  IN  VACANCIES  NOTIFIED  BY  EMPLOYERS  IN  AUGUST- 
NOVEMBER,  1914,  OVER  AUGUST-NOVEMBER,  1913 

August         September         October.        November 

Insured   trades 24.1%  27.  %  45.2%  48.2% 

Noninsured    trades 18.2%  32.9%  34-8%  37-2% 

Thus  both  in  a  time  of  prosperity,  and  during  trade  depression,  the 
registrations  from  employers  show  greater  gains  in  the  trades  covered 
by  unemployment  insurance  than  they  do  in  noninsured  trades. 

The  unemployment  insurance  act  has  resulted  in  increasing  the 
use  of  the  exchanges,  necessarily  by  the  insured  workmen,  volun- 
tarily by  others,  and  by  employers  in  the  insured  trades.  In  turn, 
the  more  extended  use  multiplies  the  effectiveness  of  the  exchanges 
in  reducing  the  time  lost  between  jobs. 

In  1909  when  the  bill  establishing  labor  exchanges  was  passed, 
the  board  of  trade  had  prepared  a  bill  for  unemployment  insurance, 
which  was  withheld  in  order  to  perfect  the  scheme  and  to  permit 
the  newly  created  exchanges  to  become  an  efficient  social  machine. 
When  the  bill  was  finally  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons 
in  1911  it  appeared  as  part  II  of  the  national  insurance  act,  and 
as  most  of  the  discussion  of  the  bill  was  directed  against  part  I, 
which  provided  for  health  insurance,  it  passed  into  law  under 
cover  of  this  part.  It  has  since  been  necessary  to  make  amend- 

*  Board  of  Trade  Labour  Gazette,  September  to  December,  1914. 


268  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

ments  of  administrative  technique,  through  the  amending  act  of 
1914. 

The  British  supporters  of  unemployment  insurance  advocate  it 
primarily  as  a  dignified  method  of  relief.  As  a  palliative  it  is 
preferable  to  poor  law  aid  with  the  pauper  disqualification,  or  to 
the  municipal  relief  works  with  their  case  investigation  into  the 
needs  of  the  man.  In  contrast  with  this  older  method,  the  insured 
British  workman  is  now  relieved  upon  the  basis  of  his  own  con- 
tributions, without  any  question  of  his  need,  and  with  a  legal 
right  to  this  assistance.  The  principle  of  placing  part  of  the 
burden  upon  the  employer  is  essentially  equitable,  since  it  is  the 
employer  who,  in  busy  seasons,  reaps  the  benefit  of  the  reserve 
of  labor.  On  the  other  hand,  the  state  is  accustomed  to  care 
for  the  unemployed  with  more  or  less  adequacy,  and,  by  assisting 
the  insurance  scheme,  contracts  to  assist  upon  a  business  basis 
and  also  justifies  her  right  of  compelling  both  employer  and  worker 
to  contribute. 

The  obligation  to  insure  against  unemployment  is  placed  upon 
all  employers  and  upon  the  2,250,0x30  workers  in  the  six  trades 
of  building,  construction  works,  shipbuilding,  mechanical  engineer- 
ing, construction  of  vehicles,  and  sawmilling.  The  following  table5 
shows  the  distribution  of  insured  workmen  among  the  insured 
trades : 

NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  INSURED  WORKMEN  IN  INSURED  TRADES 

Number  of  Unemployment  Per  Cent 

Books  Issued  to  Workers  of  Total 

Insured  Trade  to  January,  1914  Insured 

Building    775,775  34-Q 

Construction      of      Docks,      Railroads, 

Canals,  etc 161,168  7.0 

Shipbuilding    260,820  11.4 

Mechanical   Engineering    . 804,527  35.3 

Construction  of  Vehicles 204,672  9.0 

Sawmilling  (of  a  kind  commonly  car- 
ried on  in  an  insured  trade) 11,819  0.5 

Other  Industries  (insured  trades  which 
occur  in  connection  with  other  in- 
dustries, and  where  the  noninsured 
industry  is  main  business  of  the 
employer)  63,563  2.8 

Total    2,282,324  loo.o 


6  Board  of  Trade  Labour  Gazette,  March,  1914. 


Compulsory  Unemployment  Insurance  in  Great  Britain      269 

These  trades  were  selected  because  in  them  the  extent  of  un- 
employment was  best  known  and  the  fluctuation  in  employment 
most  severe.  An  umpire  appointed  by  the  crown  is  empowered 
to  decide  what  workers  are  included  within  the  terms  of  the  act.6 
Within  the  first  year  of  the  operation  of  the  act  over  1,000  pub- 
lished decisions,  and  10,000  decisions  given  in  correspondence, 
were  made  by  the  umpire.7 

A  weekly  contribution  of  2j^  pence  is  payable  by  both  employer 
and  worker;  to  the  combined  contribution  of  5  pence  the  state 
adds  one-third  as  much,  or  i%  pence,  weekly.8  During  the  first 
year,  the  contributions  of  employers  and  workers  amounted  to 
£1,701,300,  and  that  of  the  state  to  £378,ooo.9  Payment  is  made 
through  the  employers,  who  affix  weekly  a  special  5-penny  stamp 
to  the  unemployment  book  of  each  insured  workman,  deducting 
the  worker's  2^2  pence  from  his  wage.  British  employers  com- 
plained to  me  that  in  addition  to  the  expenditure  for  the  weekly 
contribution,  the  act  had  necessitated  increased  expense  for  the 
extra  clerical  labor  to  keep  the  appropriate  records. 

The  incidence  of  the  tax,  embodied  in  the  weekly  contribution, 
is  considered  unjust  by  leading  associations  of  employers;  for  it 
takes  cognizance,  not  of  the  profits  of  the  employer,  but  merely 
of  the  number  of  workers  employed,  which  bears  no  relation  to 
profits.  Thus  the  burden  is  heavy  in  the  building  trades,  in  which 
a  large  amount  of  labor  is  employed  in  proportion  to  the  profits.10 
The  following  illustrative  figures  given  by  Mr.  W.  Pretty,  a  promi- 
nent cotton  manufacturer,  bring  out  the  point: 

Firm  Employing  100  Hands  Firm  Employing  2,000  Hands 

Profit    £10,000        Profit   £10,000 

Employer's  levy 1 19        Employer's  levy   2,383 

Sickness  insurance  65  Sickness  insurance 1,300 

Unemployment  insurance. .         54  Unemployment   insurance...     1,083 

Per  cent,  levy  of  profit 1.2     Per  cent,  levy  of  profit 24 

Conflicting  phrases  in  sections  87  and  101  of  the  original  act  leave 

"National  Insurance  Act,  191 1,  §89. 

7  First  Annual  Report,  p.  n. 

8  The  contribution  is  uniform  for  all  trades  and  workers ;  exception  is  made 
in  the  case  of  boys  under  eighteen  who  pay  at  the  rate  of  2  pence  a  week, 
with  proportionally  decreased  benefits,  and  of  casual  laborers,  who  pay  at 
a  higher  daily  rate.    This  is  done  to  penalize  irregular  employment. 

"First  Annual  Report,  p.  22. 
"Building  News,  December  20,   1912. 


270    .  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

one  in  doubt  as  to  whether  worker  or  employer  is  legally  liable  for 
the  contributions.  The  French  act  for  compulsory  insurance  for  old 
age  was  wrecked  on  a  similar  snag.  The  present  outlook  in  England, 
however,  is  encouraging,  for  in  twenty-two  prosecutions  of  em- 
ployers for  failure  to  pay  contributions  during  the  first  year,  con- 
victions were  secured  in  each  case.11 

In  return  for  the  weekly  contribution  of  5  pence,  and  the  state's 
contribution  of  1^3  pence,  the  insured  workman  is  assured  of  a 
weekly  benefit  of  7  shillings  during  unemployment,  provided  he  does 
not  draw  more  than  fifteen  weeks'  benefit  in  any  one  year,  nor  in 
greater  proportion  than  one  week's  benefit  to  five  weeks'  contri- 
butions.12 Benefit  is  not  paid  for  the  first  week. 

It  may  be  asked  whether  this  limited  amount  of  benefit  is  ade- 
quate to  the  needs  of  the  unemployed.  In  a  study  of  i3O,ooo13 
spells  of  unemployment  it  was  found  that  63.1  per  cent  of  unem- 
ployment among  nonunion  men  was  covered  by  benefit,  and  59.3 
per  cent  among  union  men.  Among  nonunion  men  the  percentage 
of  unemployment  which  was  not  on  benefit  because  of  the  waiting 
week  constituted  27  per  cent,  and  among  union  men  34  per  cent. 
This  difference  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  spells  of  unemployment 
among  nonunion  men  are  longer  than  among  unionists,  so  that  the 
first  waiting  week  constitutes  a  larger  percentage  of  the  total  amount 
of  union  unemployment.1* 

Among  nonunion  men  1.2  per  cent  of  recorded  unemployment  was 
not  covered  because  benefit  had  been  exhausted,  and  among  the  union 
men,  .5  per  cent ;  in  addition  8.7  per  cent  of  the  nonunion  men,  and 
6.2  per  cent  of  the  union  men  were  disqualified  for  statutory  reasons 
which  will  be  discussed  later.  Although  the  small  proportion  of 
disqualifications  due  to  exhausted  benefit  presents  a  flattering  pic- 
ture, it  must  be  remembered  that  men  are  less  likely  to  apply  for 
benefit  if  they  have  exceeded  either  the  fifteen  weeks'  benefit  or  the 
benefit  allotted  in  proportion  to  the  paid-up  contributions.  As  a 
result,  men  may  be  out  of  work  without  benefit,  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  board  of  trade.  The  figures  are  further  colored  by  the 
fact  that  they  were  taken  in  the  early  days  of  operation,  before 
many  of  the  insured  had  had  an  opportunity  to  exhaust  their  benefit. 

"First  Annual  Report,  p.  13. 
u  Act  of  iQi'i,  Seventh  schedule. 
"First  Annual  Report,  p.  36. 

"The  average  number  of  days  of  unemployment  .for  each  spell  for  which 
benefit  was  paid  was  22.2  among  non-unionists,  and  18.6  among  union  men. 


Compulsory  Unemployment  Insurance  in  Great  Britain      271 

The  frequency  of  repeated  claims  from  the  same  workman  increases 
the  importance  of  this  consideration  among  the  constant  claimants. 
Within  the  first  six  months  in  which  benefit  was  paid,  30  per  cent 
of  the  claimants  had  made  two  or  more  claims.15  Although  the 
wisdom  of  covering  all  the  unemployment  of  the  men  who  are  con- 
stantly in  and  out  of  a  job  may  be  open  to  doubt,  it  is  possible  that 
the  benefit  is  not  sufficient  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  most  irregu- 
lar workers. 

In  addition  to  the  time  limitation  placed  upon  benefit,  the  act  con- 
tains several  statutory  qualifications  which  condition  its  receipt.  In 
order  to  qualify  for  benefit  a  man  must  prove  that  he  is  capable  of 
work  but  unable  to  obtain  suitable  employment.  The  workman  is 
not  considered  to  have  refused  suitable  employment  if  he  has  de- 
clined a  situation  vacant  because  of  a  trade  dispute,  or  because  the 
wages  are  less  than  those  to  which  he  was  accustomed,  or  if  they 
are  less  than  the  wage  prevailing  in  a  district  in  which  he  may  be 
offered  work.  The  British  trade  unionists  whom  I  interviewed 
agreed  that  the  exchanges  had  kept  the  spirit  of  the  act.  The 
original  act  also  required  the  workman  to  prove  that  he  had  been 
a  worker  in  an  insured  trade  for  at  least  twenty-six  weeks  in  each 
of  the  preceding  five  years.  Over  one-third  of  the  men  disquali- 
fied for  benefit  lost  the  right  on  this  one  ground  alone.16  The 
amending  act  of  1914  has  substituted  as  a  requirement  the  payment 
of  ten  full  contributions.17  A  worker  is  furthermore  disqualified  if 
he  has  lost  employment  (i)  because  of  a  trade  dispute,  (2)  because 
of  voluntarily  leaving  without  just  cause  or,  (3)  because  of  mis- 
conduct.18 During  the  first  twelve  months  of  benefits  9.9  per  cent 
of  the  total  claimants  were  disqualified  on  these  statutory  grounds. 
The  following  table16  shows  the  percentage  of  the  claims  disallowed 
during  the  first  year  which  were  disallowed  on  each  of  the  statutory 
grounds. 

PERCENTAGE  OF  CLAIMS  DISALLOWED  DURING  FIRST  YEAR  WHICH  WERE  DIS- 
ALLOWED ON  EACH  STATUTORY  GROUND 
Failure  to  prove  employment  in  an  insured  trade  for  26  weeks  yearly 

for  5  years  36.0% 

Voluntarily  leaving  employment  without  just  cause) 

Misconduct  j 3&2% 

Trade  Dispute   17.0% 

Refusal  of  suitable  employment 

"First  Annual  Report,  p.  26. 

18  Board  of  Trade  Labour  Gazette,  March,  1914,  p.  87. 

17  National  insurance  act,  1914,  §1. 

M  National  insurance  act,  1911,  §§86  and  87. 


272  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

Notwithstanding  these  limitations  and  conditions,  during  twelve 
months  (January  15,  I9i3-January  17,  1914)  1,144,213  claims  for 
benefit  were  made.  Of  these  the  direct  claims  constituted  822,689, 
or  72.1  per  cent,  and  those  made  through  trade  unions,  by  a  method 
to  be  explained  later,  321,524  or  27.9  per  cent.  Separate  payments 
(of  which  many  were  frequently  made  under  one  claim)  numbered 
1,651,229,  and  the  total  amount  expended  was  £497,725,  making  an 
average  of  6  shillings  a  payment.  £369,667,  or  74  per  cent  of  the 
benefits,  were  paid  on  direct  claims,  while  £128,058,  or  26  per  cent, 
were  paid  on  claims  made  through  associations.19 

During  the  first  year,  for  which  alone  the  full  report  is  available, 
the  estimated  weekly  cost  of  benefits  was  1^4  pence  a  head,  whereas 
the  total  contribution  is  6^3  pence  a  head.  As  a  result  of  the  ac- 
cumulation of  contributions  during  the  first  half  of  the  year,  when 
no  benefits  were  paid,  and  as  a  result  of  the  exceptionally  good  trade 
during  the  first  year  of  benefits,  the  fund  expended  less  than  was 
anticipated,  and  in  July,  1913,  had  accumulated  a  balance  of 
£i,6io,ooo.20 

The  administrative  machinery  for  the  act  is  relatively  simple. 
The  United  Kingdom  is  divided  into  eight  divisions,  and  each  di- 
vision has  charge  of  all  the  claims  within  its  district.  All  claims  for 
benefit  are  made  through  the  labor  exchange,  where  the  unemploy- 
ment book  is  left  until  work  is  found,  and  where  in  general  the 
worker  must  prove  his  unemployment  by  signing  daily  an  unemploy- 
ment register  within  working  hours.  Unions  which  have  made  ar- 
rangements under  section  105  may  have  their  members  sign  the 
vacant  book  at  the  union  offices,  although  an  increasing  number 
of  them  are  keeping  the  union  vacant  book  at  the  exchange.  The 
local  exchange  comr-.unicates  with  the  employer  to  gain  his  version 
of  the  cause  of  unemployment;  this,  together  with  the  claim,  is 
forwarded  to  the  divisional  office  where  the  complete  records  are 
filed.  The  insurance  officer  passes  upon  the  claim  and  the  exchange 
is  notified  to  pay  or  to  withhold  benefit.  If  the  claim  is  disallowed 
the  workman  may  appeal  to  the  court  of  referees  which  is  composed 
of  an  impartial  chairman,  appointed  by  the  board  of  trade,  and  an 
elected  representative  of  the  employers  and  of  the  workers.  Their 
decision  is  final  if  in  agreement  with  that  of  the  insurance  officer; 
if  it  is  in  disagreement,  appeal  may  be  carried  to  the  umpire.  Dur- 

"  Board  of  Trade  Labour  Gazette,  iMarch,  1914,  p.  87. 
"First  Annual  Report,  pp.  22  and  31. 


Compulsory  Unemployment  Insurance  in  Great  Britain      273 

ing  the  first  six  months  of  benefit  only  one  in  twelve  of  the  37,424 
disallowed  claims  was  appealed.21  Although  unionists  complained 
to  me  that  the  process  of  appeal  is  slow  and  difficult,  they  appear 
satisfied  with  the  constitution  of  the  courts  and  with  the  essential 
justice  of  the  decisions.  The  cost  of  administration  is  not  ex- 
pected to  exceed  10  per  cent  of  the  receipts  from  employers  and 
workers.22  Figures  are  not  yet  available  which  show  its  actual 
amount. 

Although  the  act  is  essentially  a  measure  to  relieve  the  unem- 
ployed, it  also  seeks  to  prevent  unemployment  by  offering  slight 
financial  inducements  for  the  regularization  of  industry.  A  refund 
of  3  shillings  is  made  to  employers  for  each  workman  for  whom 
forty-five  weekly  contributions  have  been  made  in  the  course  of 
the  year.  This  is  at  once  an  effort  to  induce  employers  to  retain 
their  workmen,  and  a  means  by  which  the  premium  of  the  steady 
establishments  is  reduced  below  the  flat  rate.23  Another  device  to 
the  same  end  is  the  remission  of  the  contributions  of  employers  and 
workers  when  the  employer  systematically  works  short  time  during 
a  period  of  trade  depression,  instead  of  dismissing  part  of  his 
force.24  On  the  other  hand,  casual  labor  is  penalized  through  higher 
contributions,  thus  for  one  day's  work,  I  penny  is  due  from  both 
employer  and  worker;  for  two  days'  work,  2  pence;  and  for  three 
days'  work,  2.y2  pence,  which  is  the  regular  rate  for  a  week.28  If, 
however,  the  employer  engages  his  casual  labor  from  the  labor  ex- 
change, the  employment  of  six  different  men  on  the  six  working 
days  is  reckoned  as  the  employment  of  one  man  for  a  week.28  The 
advantage  of  this  arrangement  to  the  workmen  is  apparent,  for  it 
gathers  the  individual  reserve  of  many  firms  into  one  central  pool  at 
the  labor  exchange  .  The  possible  future  effects  of  these  preventive 
measures  cannot  be  foretold  upon  the  basis  of  the  first  two  years' 
operation,  when  manufacturers  were  exceptionally  prosperous.  The 
absence  of  pressure  may  possibly  account  for  the  employers'  belief 
that  these  inducements  to  prevent  unemployment  are  too  slight  to 
produce  any  great  effect. 

"First  Annual  Report,  p.  32. 

"Act  of  1911,  §89. 

"Act  of  1911,  §94J  1914,  §5- 

14  Act  of  1914,  §7. 

"Act  of  1911,  Eighth  schedule. 

"Act  of  1911,  §99-1. 


274  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

The  most  far  reaching  provision  of  the  act  authorizes  the  in- 
surance officer  to  test  the  ability  of  a  man  to  work  if  he  is  unable  to 
keep  a  job  because  of  lack  of  skill;  and  further  empowers  him  to 
afford  training  which  will  bring  the  requisite  skill.27  This  pro- 
vision, however,  has  not  been  put  in  operation. 

The  act  is  perhaps  unique  for  its  refunding  to  insured  workmen 
of  the  age  of  sixty,  who  have  made  500  contributions  to  the  fund, 
the  amount  by  which  their  contributions  have  exceeded  the  benefits 
received,  together  with  compound  interest  at  2.^/2  per  cent  a  year.28 
Under  these  conditions,  the  inducement  to  malinger  is  decreased,  and 
the  unemployment  fund  becomes  a  savings  bank  to  the  steady 
worker.  I  was  told  that  this  provision  has  decreased  the  hostility 
of  the  better  workmen  to  the  act,  since  their  contributions  are  not 
lost  to  them.  It  is  not  yet  known  what  the  results  of  the  refund 
will  be,  since  the  clause  is  as  yet  substantially  inoperative.29 

As  an  American  student  of  the  act,  I  was  particularly  impressed 
by  the  degree  of  cooperation  with  the  trade  unions.  Under  section 
105  of  the  act,  "an  association  of  workmen"  which  pays  out-of- 
work  benefit  to  its  members  in  an  insured  trade  may  make  an  ar- 
rangement with  the  board  of  trade  to  enable  the  association  to 
pay  state  benefit  to  its  members,  with  a  refund  from  the  state  of 
three-fourths  of  the  amount  so  paid  out,  provided  that  the  union 
pays  a  benefit  equal  to  one-third  of  the  state  benefit.30  A  refund  is 
made  only  for  those  claims  which  would  have  been  allowed  if 
payment  had  been  "direct"  through  the  labor  exchange.  This  com- 
plicates the  administration  slightly,  for  the  local  exchange,  after 
it  has  received  its  authorization  to  pay,  must  then  notify  the  union 
secretary,  who  actually  pays  the  benefit.  At  first  difficulties  were 
encountered,  for  me  warm-hearted  branch  secretaries  thought  that 
they  could  pay  the  state  benefit  with  the  same  freedom  with  which 
they  were  accustomed  to  pay  out  union  benefits;  as  a  result,  pay- 
ments were  made  with  an  unjustified  expectation  of  refund,  and 
consequent  disappointment.  It  also  not  infrequently  happened  that 
the  inability  to  obtain  all  the  expected  refund  was  attributable  to 
the  poor  bookkeeping  of  the  unions,  which  did  not  pass  the  govern- 
ment auditor.  In  addition,  many  of  the  unions  cpmplain  that  the 

27  Act  of  1911,  §100-1. 

28  Act  of  1911,  §95- 

"Act  of  1911,  §95;  I9H,  §6- 
"Act  of  1911,  §105;  1914,  §13. 


Compulsory  Unemployment  Insurance  in  Great  Britain      275 

act  has  given  them  no  authority  and  that  the  administrative  work 
has  entailed  extra  expense  for  which  they  receive  no  compensation. 
The  conference  of  the  Labour  party  in  February,  1914,  demanded 
that  a  grant  be  made  to  the  unions  to  cover  these  administrative 
expenses.  On  the  other  hand,  the  union  support  of  the  act  is 
shown  in  their  continued  agitation  that  the  act  be  extended  to  in- 
clude all  trades  within  the  compulsory  provisions. 

Up  to  July,  1913,  105  associations  with  539,775  members  had 
entered  into  these  arrangements,  and  of  these  the  president  of  the 
board  of  trade  stated  that  twenty-one  unions,  with  a  membership 
of  86,000,  had  begun  to  make  provision  for  unemployment  in- 
surance since  the  passing  of  the  act.  Thus  compulsory  insurance 
has  stimulated  voluntary  insurance. 

It  was  expected  that  trade  unions  would  reduce  their  rates  of 
contributions  to  their  own  out-of-work  benefits  by  the  2^/>  pence 
which  their  members  contributed  to  the  state  scheme,  and  that  the 
unions  would  gain  by  the  contributions  of  employers  and  state,  to 
the  amount  of  4  shillings  I  penny  out  of  each  7  shillings  of  benefit.81 
As  far  as  I  was  able  to  ascertain,  this  has  not  occurred.  Instead, 
the  unions  continue  their  own  rate  of  benefits,  with  some  slight 
modifications,  and  merely  add  the  state  benefit  "when  due."  The 
individual  members  have  benefited  and  not  the  union  treasury. 

The  act  has  gone  outside  the  insured  trades  and  aims  to  en- 
courage voluntary  insurance  in  all  trades  by  its  offer  of  a  subsidy  of 
one-sixth  of  the  out-of-work  benefits  paid  out  by  any  association 
of  workmen  in  any  trade,  provided  benefit  does  not  exceed  17 
shillings  a  week.32  In  practice,  103  unions  have  entered  into  ar- 
rangements under  the  two  sections,  105  and  106,  thus  gaining  the 
advantage  of  the  7  shilling  state  benefit,  and  claiming  a  refund  of 
one-sixth  of  the  union  out-of-work  benefit.  During  the  first  year's 
operation  172  unions,  with  a  membership  of  376,041  in  noninsured 
trades,  had  made  arrangements  to  gain  this  subsidy.  In  each  case 
the  union  must  certify  that  unemployment  has  not  been  connected 
with  a  trade  dispute,  and  allow  the  government  to  audit  the  books 
of  the  unemployment  fund.  The  government  grant  for  this  is  made 
by  Parliament  and  does  not  come  from  the  unemployment  fund 
built  up  by  the  contributions  of  employers  and  workers.  Unions 
are  finding  some  difficulty  in  claiming  the  refund  where  their  ac- 

11  Carr,  Garnett  and  Taylor,  National  Insurance,  4th  edition,  p.  384. 
"Act  of  1911,  §106;  1914,  §14. 


276  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

counting  cannot  be  accepted  by  the  government  auditors.  Although 
the  aim  of  this  subsidy  is  to  encourage  trade  union  insurance,  promi- 
nent trade  union  secretaries  doubt  if  it  is  large  enough  to  make  in- 
surance possible  in  the  weaker  unions,  or  in  those  of  poorly  paid 
trades.  As  far  as  known  to  the  board  of  trade,  only  three  of  the 
associations  which  have  taken  advantage  of  this  section  have  ini- 
tiated their  out-of-work  benefit  since  the  act  came  into  operation, 
and  the  board  is  unable  to  say  how  far  the  prospect  of  state  aid 
was  an  inducement.83 

Under  the  special  conditions  brought  on  by  the  war,  the  board  of 
trade  has  made  arrangements  to  increase  this  subsidy  by  an  "emer- 
gency grant,"  upon  the  conditions  (i)  that  the  association  is  suf- 
fering from  abnormal  unemployment;  (2)  that  the  association  is 
not  paying  more  than  17  shillings  benefit,  including  the  state  7  shil- 
lings; and  (3)  that  the  association  will  impose  special  levies  upon 
its  employed  members.  The  following  is  the  scale  of  subsidy  in 
proportion  to  benefit  given  and  levy  imposed  :34 

Maximum  Rate  of  Unemployment  Rate  of  Weekly  Levy  Required  to 

Benefit  Paid  by  Association  Obtain  Emergency  Grant  of 

One-sixth  of  One-third  of 

benefit  benefit 

Not  more  than   175 3d  6d 

Not  more  than   155 2d  4d 

Not  more  than   135 id  2d 

Thus  far  we  have  been  concerned  with  the  practical  operation  of 
the  unemployment  insurance  act,  and  have  disregarded  the  under- 
lying problems  v  lich  faced  the  British  legislators  and  which  they 
have  solved  so  successfully.  The  first  difficulty  encountered  is  the 
fact  that,  in  any  scheme  of  insurance  embracing  large  numbers  of 
workmen,  the  steady  workers  pay  for  their  irregular  comrades,  and 
that  the  contributions  from  the  trades  with  low  unemployment  rate 
subsidize  the  more  seasonal  industries.  If  insurance  is  to  be  the 
method,  the  first  difficulty  cannot  be  escaped.  With  regard  to  the 
second,  if  detailed  figures  were  available  showing  the  unemploy- 
ment percentage  in  various  trades,  it  would  be  preferable  to  vary 
the  weekly  premium  in  accordance  with  the  risk  of  the  trade.  The 
British  actuaries  who  made  the  estimate  upon  which  the  act  is  based 
found  that  available  data  of  union  unemployment  were  not  ade- 

"  C.  F.  Rey. 

84  National  Insurance  Gazette,  November  14,  1914. 


Compulsory  Unemployment  Insurance  in  Great  Britain      277 

quate  to  justify  individualized  rates  for  each  trade.35  In  the  ab- 
sence of  reliable  figures  the  only  course  was  to  adopt,  at  least  for 
the  time  being,  the  policy  of  a  flat  rate  contribution  for  all  workers 
in  all  trades.  This  was  done  and  power  was  given  to  the  board  of 
trade  to  vary  the  rates,  after  seven  years'  experience  has  been 
gained,  either  by  a  uniform  revision,  or  by  a  revision  for  any  one 
trade  in  which  the  previous  contribution  was  inadequate  or  more 
than  adequate.86 

The  second  problem  is  that  of  maintaining  neutrality  between  em- 
ployer and  worker.  It  is  obviously  unfair  to  compel  the  employer 
to  contribute  to  the  unemployment  fund  if  it  is  to  be  used  to  subsi- 
dize workmen  on  strike;  it  is  equally  unjust  to  compel  workers  to 
accept  jobs  vacant  because  of  a  strike,  on  penalty  of  being  dis- 
qualified from  benefit.  Equally  vital,  though  no  less  difficult,  are 
the  questions  involved  in  defining  unemployment.  The  employer 
may  reasonably  ask  if  workmen  who  are  discharged  because  of 
insubordination,  drunkenness,  or  who  leave  of  their  own  free  will, 
are  to  reap  the  benefits  of  the  employers'  contributions.  With  equal 
concern  the  unions  may  ask  if  men  who  are  discharged  in  slack 
time,  or  who  leave  because  the  foreman  is  tyrannous  or  in  an  effort 
to  get  better  wages  or  hours,  should  be  deprived  of  benefit.  A  no 
less  difficult  set  of  problems  is  involved  in  the  necessity  of  meeting 
certain  union  demands.  The  union  will  rightly  claim  a  share  in  the 
administration  of  these  new  benefits.  It  is  a  nice  question  of  or- 
ganization, so  to  apportion  the  responsibilities  that  unions  will  be 
contented  with  their  share,  and  that  employers  may  not  reasonably 
fear  union  dominance.  In  my  estimation  one  of  the  most  noteworthy 
aspects  of  the  act  is  the  extent  of  cooperation  involved  with  trade 
unions  in  accepting  union  standards,  and  the  success  with  which 
the  neutrality  between  employer  and  worker  has  been  maintained. 

During  the  two  and  a  half  years  of  operation,  the  act  has  done 
what  it  was  expected  to  do ;  it  has  been  found  possible  to  define  the 
insured  trades,  to  pay  benefit  to  the  unemployed  workmen  within 
these  trades,  and  to  make  a  saving  on  the  actuarial  estimate.  The 
accumulation  of  a  surplus  at  the  close  of  the  first  year  is  due  in 
part  to  the  phenomenally  low  rate  of  unemployment  during  the 
first  year,  which  colors  all  the  facts  revealed  by  the  early  experience, 
and  which  should  constantly  be  borne  in  mind  in  estimating  the 


"C.  D.  162,  p.  10. 
"Act  of  1911,  §102. 


278  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

value  of  the  first  year's  success.  The  actuarial  basis  cannot  be  con- 
sidered a  final  success  until  the  act  has  been  tested  by  a  period  of 
trade  depression.  The  board  of  trade  has  found  it  possible  to  co- 
operate with  the  unions  and  to  win  the  support  of  the  Labour  party 
for  the  scheme,  so  that,  notwithstanding  relatively  minor  criticism, 
the  party  is  agitating  for  the  extension  of  the  compulsory  provis- 
ions so  that  all  trades  may  be  included.  Furthermore,  the  existence 
of  compulsory  insurance  does  not  seem  to  have  weakened  the  move- 
ment for  voluntary  insurance,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  have  given 
it  a  new  impetus,  especially  within  the  insured  trades.  The  corner 
stones  upon  which  the  present  and  future  success  of  the  act  rests 
are  the  existence  of  an  efficient  system  of  labor  exchanges,  and  of 
a  sane  trade  union  movement  with  which  it  is  possible  for  a  gov- 
ernment to  cooperate  without  calling  forth  just  opposition  from 
employers. 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION 

WALTER  L.  SEARS,  Superintendent,  Public  Employment  Bureau  of 
the  City  of  New  York:  Public  employment  bureaus  were  first  es- 
tablished in  Europe  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  and  are  now  in 
operation  under  government  control  in  more  than  fifteen  foreign 
countries.  They  were  first  established  in  this  country  in  the  state 
of  Ohio  in  an  attempt  to  do  away  with  the  unscrupulous  private 
employment  agencies.  Seventy-five  cities  located  in  more  than 
twenty-five  states,  besides  Canada,  the  Hawaiian  and  Philippine  Is- 
lands and  Porto  Rico,  now  have  these  bureaus  under  government 
jurisdiction. 

The  general  impression  prevalent  in  this  country  relative  to  these 
bureaus  is  bad,  for  obvious  reasons.  Wherever  these  bureaus  have 
been  successful  and  accomplished  what  their  friends  desired,  it 
has  been  due  to  the  fact  that  they  have  been  accessibly  located,  run 
on  strictly  business  lines,  free  from  political  influence,  highly  or- 
ganized and  efficiently  managed.  They  have  not  been  used  as  a 
dumping  ground  for  the  "down  and  outs"  of  the  community.  They 
have  not  been  and  should  not  be,  considered  as  a  charity  in  any 
sense  of  the  word,  no  more  than  our  public  libraries  and  schools. 
It,  should  be  remembered  that  their  chief  function  is  to  act  as  an 
agent  of  the  employer  and  employee  in  an  honest  endeavor  to  find 
suitable  help  for  the  former,  and  employment  for  the  latter.  The 
employer  usually  states  in  his  order  for  help  just  what  he  desires, 
and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  public  employment  bureau  to  comply  with 
that  request  as  nearly  as  possible.  The  employer  has  the  final  say 
as  to  whom  will  be  employed;  the  bureau  has  little  to  say  in  the 
matter.  The  employer's  confidence  in  many  of  these  bureaus  has 
been  lost,  for  the  reason  that  the  service  has  not  been  satisfactory; 
he  has  been  imposed  upon.  The  ordinary  employer  may  be  willing 
to  contribute  generously  to  charity,  but  when  it  comes  to  the  matter 
of  whom  he  shall  employ  he  properly  insists  upon  prompt  service 
and  competent,  reliable  and  temperate  help,  the  best  he  can  obtain 
for  the  consideration  he  has  to  offer.  It  is  human  nature  the 
world  over  to  want  to  "buy  in  the  lowest  market  and  to  sell  in  the 


280  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

highest  market."  This  is  particularly  true  of  the  "labor  market." 
The  success  of  these  offices  depends  upon  the  "quality  of  service 
rendered  to  the  employing  public."  Without  the  patronage  of 
the  employers,  which  can  be  obtained  and  retained  only  by  giving  a 
quality  of  service  equal  to  the  best  they  can  obtain  elsewhere,  no 
office  could  survive.  This  point  is  absolutely  vital  if  success 
is  to  be  obtained. 

I  do  not  believe  in  advisory  committees  or  councils  to  advise  and 
cooperate  with  the  management,  except  possibly  where  the  officials 
have  had  no  experience  in  the  work. 

The  public  employment  bureau  should  be  accessibly  located, 
lighted,  well-ventilated,  and  be  provided  with  sufficient  equipment 
and  funds  by  which  properly  to  serve  its  patrons.  The  merit  system 
should  prevail  in  the  matter  of  appointments  to  the  staff,  and  each 
member  should  be  courteous,  patient,  sympathetic,  with  a  pleasing 
personality  and  ample  knowledge  of  human  nature.  Proper  records 
should  also  be  kept,  not  only  for  use  in  the  work  of  the  bureau, 
but  to  show  to  those  who  are  responsible  for  the  enforcement  of 
the  law  and  for  appropriations.  Sufficient  funds  should  also  be 
provided  with  which  to  give  the  office  practical,  prudent  publicity. 
This  is  absolutely  necessary  if  the  office  is  to  become  favorably  and 
properly  known  to  the  employing  public. 

Judicious  cooperation  should  be  had  with  all  individuals  and 
organizations  interested  in  the  intelligent  placement  of  labor,  but 
in  no  case  with  a  fee  agency,  unless  such  agency  agrees  in  advance 
to  waive  the  fee,  and  then  only  with  a  reputable  agency. 

Handicapped  cases,  and  those  sent  to  the  bureau  by  public  bene- 
factors, can  be  handled  to  a  limited  extent.  In  all  such  cases,  the 
employer  should  be  made  aware  of  all  the  conditions  regarding 
the  applicant.  Care  should  be  exercised  so  that  employers  may 
not  be  imposed  upon. 

I  have  persistently  and  repeatedly  advised  that  all  churches,  fra- 
ternal associations  and  other  organizations  having  committees  on 
unemployment  centralize  the  demand  for  labor  at  the  government 
bureau  or  clearing  house.  By  this  method  much  of  the  confusion 
and  duplication  could  be  eliminated.  In  the  absence  of  reliable  in- 
formation, both  the  employer  and  employee  are  bewildered  in  not 
knowing  where  to  obtain  suitable  help  or  employment.  The  gov- 
ernment bureau  can  render  a  disinterested  and  impartial  service 
free  to  all. 


General  Discussion  281 

If  they  were  properly  conducted,  and  the  management  fully  under- 
stood their  duty  to  the  community  that  they  are  to  serve,  every  mem- 
ber of  society  would  be  better  off  for  such  institutions. 

There  is  ample  room  and  opportunity  for  highly  specialized 
private  employment  agencies.  The  unscrupulous  private  agency 
may  have  cause  to  fear  the  government  bureau,  but  no  well-con- 
ducted and  properly  managed  private  employment  agency  need  have 
any  fear  of  the  public  bureau. 

Fads  and  theories  should  not  enter  into  the  administration  of  the 
public  employment  bureau.  We  should  be  practical  in  all  that 
we  do,  and  adopt  only  such  methods  as  have  been  tried  and  found 
absolutely  practical.  Obviously,  proper  blanks  and  forms  are  es- 
sential by  which  to  keep  proper  records.  We  believe  that  we  have 
such  blanks  in  the  New  York  City  Public  Employment  Bureau. 

The  following  data  represent  the  total  operations  of  the  New 
York  city  office  for  the  first  five  weeks  (twenty-nine  days)  of  its 
existence : 

Male       Female        Total 

1.  Labor  demand 

(Help   wanted) 

No.  of  employer's  applications  424 

No.  of  persons  called  for 385  337  722 

2.  Labor  supply 

(Situations  wanted) 

No.  of  office  registrations   9,208  1,281  10,489 

No.  of  positions  offered   398  266  664 

3.  Positions  reported  filled   117  75  192 

4.  Native  born  5,055  757  5,812 

Foreign   born    4,153  524  4,677 

5.  Citizen    6,173  921  7,634 

Alien 2,495  360  2,855 

6.  Unionists  363  I  364 

MARY  VAN  KLEECK,  Secretary,  Committee  on  Women's  Work, 
Russell  Sage  Foundation:  We  are  all  expecting  a  great  deal  from 
the  public  employment  agencies  in  the  way  of  exact  and  specific 
information  about  the  industries  which  lay  their  workers  off  at  cer- 
tain seasons  of  the  year,  and  about  the  fluctuations  in  employment. 
We  all  know,  however,  that  unless  the  record  system  of  employment 
agencies  provides  for  this  special  gathering  of  information  we  are 
all  going  to  be  very  much  disappointed.  I  would  like  to  ask  Mr. 
Barnes  whether  he  thinks  our  hopes  are  justified  on  the  basis  of 
records  now  to  be  had  in  public  employment  agencies  ? 


282  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

MR.  BARNES:  Do  I  understand  that  you  wish  to  know  whether 
the  records  at  present  used  in  the  best  employment  offices  would 
show  about  seasonal  work,  etc.? 

Miss  VAN  KLEECK:  I  have  been  a  good  deal  disappointed  per- 
sonally in  looking  over  records  in  some  of  the  employment  agencies. 
I  want  to  know  whether  there  is  anything  in  the  organization  of  a 
bureau  which  would  prevent  securing  the  exact  and  specific  informa- 
tion on  those  points,  or  whether  the  employment  agents  are  generally 
feeling  that  they  must  meet  a  practical  situation  in  a  practical  way, 
and  can  gather  the  statistics  required. 

MR.  BARNES  :  I  would  say  in  answer  that  we  are  in  that  field  in 
a  state  of  compromise.  We  are  not  as  yet  prepared  fully  to  furnish 
statistics.  The  information  which  first  will  have  to  be  gathered 
will  be  largely  that  necessary  for  the  working  of  the  office.  As  I 
said  here  before  to-day,  we  have  not  a  trained  set  of  workers  for 
these  offices  as  yet.  How  are  you  going  to  gather  these  statistics 
with  people  who  have  never  been  in  an  employment  office  before? 
How  many  people  know  anything  about  employment  offices,  or  have 
ever  looked  an  applicant  squarely  in  the  face  and  tried  to  judge 
whether  he  could  fill  the  job  which  was  in  hand  to  offer? 

Miss  VAN  KLEECK:  But  do  the  records  provide  specifically  for 
a  statement  of  the  details  of  the  last  job  a  man  has  held? 

MR.  BARNES:  On  the  records  which  I  have  just  had  printed  for 
the  state  of  New  York,  a  special  point  is  made  of  the  time  a  man  has 
been  employed,  and  the  time  that  a  man  has  held  his  last  job,  and 
these  will  be  noted  the  first  thing.  The  record  states  that  a  man 
shall  give  as  a  reference  his  last  employer,  and  how  long  he  has 
worked  for  that  man. 

Miss  VAN  KLEECK:  May  I  ask  Mr.  Sears  whether  this  is  the 
case  in  his  bureau  ? 

MR.  SEARS  :  Perhaps  I  should  first  explain  our  method  of  receiv- 
ing applications  for  employment.  We  register  all  applicants  for 
employment,  who  call  at  the  office,  on  a  registry  slip.  First  we  ask 


General  Discussion  283 

the  applicant  to  sign  his  name  in  full  on  the  lower  section  of  the 
blank.  This  is  done  for  two  reasons:  (i)  because  after  signing 
his  name  he  feels  that  he  is  under  obligation  to  tell  the  truth;  (2) 
because  in  that  way  we  get  the  name  spelled  correctly.  The  rest  of 
the  blank  is  filled  out  by  the  clerk  receiving  the  application.  By 
looking  at  the  blank  you  will  observe  that  related  questions  are 
grouped  together;  most  of  the  questions  are  answered  by  a  check 
mark.  We  obtain  the  applicant's  name,  address,  and  borough  or 
municipality,  and  also  telephone  number  of  certain  classes  of  help; 
age,  conjugal  condition,  religion  (which  is  not  obligatory),  and 
whether  the  applicant  lives  at  home  or  boards  out;  occupation  de- 
sired, years  and  months'  experience  in  such  occupation,  wages 
acceptable,  and  whether  he  is  willing  to  accept  employment  out  of 
town,  language  spoken,  color  or  race,  length  of  residence  in  the 
United  States,  state  and  city ;  by  whom  sent  to  the  bureau,  cause  of 
unemployment  (the  clerk  endeavors  to  classify  this  answer  under  a 
definite  standard  cause  of  unemployment),  number  of  months  un- 
employed during  the  past  twelve  months,  number  of  dependents, 
symbol  of  clerk  receiving  the  application,  and  date  of  its  receipt.  On 
the  back  of  this  registry  slip  we  endeavor  to  obtain  references  from 
the  last  two  employers,  written,  if  possible,  and  the  duration  of  em- 
ployment by  such  employers ;  failing  in  that,  we  endeavor  to  get  two 
references  from  other  responsible  persons.  A  record  is  made  on 
the  back  of  this  registry  slip  showing  the  prospective  employer's 
number  and  name,  date  on  which  the  applicant  is  sent  to  such  em- 
ployer, and  a  symbol  indicating  whether  the  applicant  has  been  hired 
or  not.  On  our  new  blanks  I  contemplate  adding  whether  or  not  the 
applicant  is  a  unionist,  also  rating  i,  2  or  3  on  personality  and  edu- 
cation. All  of  this  information  is  more  or  less  important  from  an 
employment  office  standpoint.  I  fully  realize  the  importance  of 
obtaining  additional  information  from  which  to  make  studies  with  a 
view  to  regularizing  employment  and  for  other  reasons.  None  of 
this  information  is  taken  under  oath,  but  it  is  believed  to  be  sub- 
stantially correct.  The  highly  skilled  applicant  will  not  submit  to 
much  questioning,  but  I  would  not  object  to  the  addition  to  those 
already  on  the  blank  of  other  questions  from  which  studies  may  be 
made,  and  would  be  pleased  to  receive  suggestions  in  regard  to  the 
matter. 


284  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

Miss  VAN  KLEECK:  Then  you  do  not  ask  the  last  business, 
necessarily  ? 

MR.  SEARS:  No,  we  do  not  always  ask  the  kind  of  business  in 
which  the  applicant  was  last  engaged.  Only  the  names  of  two  ref- 
erences, as  previously  stated,  are  required. 

PETER  J.  BRADY,  Secretary,  Allied  Printing  Trades  Council,  New 
York:  Just  one  more  question:  Is  it  the  policy  of  any  state  em- 
ployment bureau,  in  case  of  a  strike,  to  give  the  applicants  for 
work  full  information  on  the  new  wages  which  may  prevail,  and  the 
new  conditions  that  may  exist? 

MR.  SEARS:  In  all  labor  troubles  the  office  maintains  absolute 
neutrality,  as  Mr.  Barnes  has  said.  We  endeavor  to  have  the 
unions  inform  the  bureau  promptly  of  any  labor  difficulty.  When 
we  learn  of  any,  we  take  the  order  for  help  in  the  regular  way,  but 
inform  the  applicant  of  the  conditions,  and  when  this  is  done  he 
usually  declines  to  accept ;  but  if  he  should  decide  to  accept,  we  stamp 
on  the  card  of  introduction  "There  is  a  strike  on  at  this  establish- 
ment." When  the  applicant  is  fully  informed  of  all  conditions,  very 
few  are  willing  xo  accept.  This  policy,  followed  for  more  than 
eight  years  at  the  state  free  employment  office  at  Boston,  was  found 
to  be  satisfactory  to  organized  labor,  and  from  memory  I  would 
say  that  not  more  than  twenty-five  places  were  filled  by  strike- 
breakers in  the  eight  years'  operation  of  the  office. 

MR.  BRADY:  But  is  the  information  given  that. the  people  who 
have  gone  out  on  strike  have  done  so  because  of  the  desire  for 
shorter  hours  and  better  wages? 

MR.  BARNES  :  I  believe  the  New  York  law  would  cover  what  you 
are  asking.  If  an  employer  should  send  to  a  New  York  office  for 
help,  and  there  should  be  a  labor  disturbance  of  any  kind,  there  is 
a  regulation  that  he  make  a  full  statement  of  what  that  trouble  is. 
Then  it  is  our  duty  to  notify  the  workers  that  this  statement  has 
been  sent  in  to  us  and  to  ask  them  to  make  their  statement.  Then 
the  statement  of  the  employer  and  the  statement  of  the  workers 
are  posted  up  in  the  office,  side  by  side.  The  rest  of  the  procedure 


General  Discussion  285 

is  just  as  Mr.  Sears  has  described.  But  for  the  full  information  of 
every  one  concerned,  the  statement  of  both  sides  is  posted  right 
there  in  the  office. 

MR.  BRADY:  That  is  in  regard  to  New  York.  But  is  this  the 
practice  at  present  wherever  these  employment  bureaus  are  in 
operation  ? 

MR.  BARNES:  In  Illinois,  for  instance,  the  law  in  the  beginning 
stated  that  the  public  employment  offices  could  not  send  men  to 
take  the  place  of  strikers,  but  the  employers  made  a  fight  on  that 
clause  and  it  was  declared  unconstitutional.  In  the  amended  law 
it  was  made  just  as  in  the  New  York  law,  under  which  there  is  a 
statement  allowed  from  both  sides,  which  is  supposed  to  be  posted 
up.  In  a  recent  investigation  of  the  Illinois  employment  offices  I 
found  out  that  in  three  instances  they  were  run  by  labor  men,  and 
I  am  very  sure  that  there  is  strict  impartiality  there.  In  the  other 
offices  I  visited  they  told  me  that  they  always  followed  the  rule  of 
the  law.  In  Indiana  there  is  nothing  in  the  law  on  this  question, 
but  they  claimed  to  me  that  they  were  strictly  impartial.  In  Missouri 
it  is  the  same. 

MARGARETT  A.  HOBBS,  American  Association  on  Unemployment: 
While  it  is  true  that  many  difficulties  are  encountered  in  providing 
special  public  work  for  the  unemployed  in  times  of  business  depres- 
sion, yet  such  work  has  been  started  this  winter  more  widely  than  is 
perhaps  generally  realized.  Newspaper  clippings  from  all  parts  of 
the  country  show  that  last  winter  only  about  half  a  dozen  cities 
offered  work  to  the  unemployed.  Dayton,  Ohio,  Kansas  City,  Port- 
land, Oregon  and  San  Francisco  gave  a  few  men  a  chance  to  break 
rock  at  75  cents  or  $i  a  day.  Many  would  not  take  this  work  and 
on  the  whole  it  was  rot  very  successful.  Duluth  pointed  the  way 
to  more  effective  methods  by  having  several  sewers  built  during  the 
winter  by  the  unemployed. 

This  winter,  however,  fifty  or  more  representative  communi- 
ties in  twenty-six  states  all  over  the  country  have  actually  under  way 
public  work  for  the  unemployed,  and  in  many  more  cities  such 
action  has  been  urged.  The  scope  of  the  work  varies  all  the  way 
from  the  $1,500,000  bond  issue  in  Detroit  to  the  action  of  the  coroner 


286  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

in  Peoria,  Illinois.  This  gentleman  offered  to  help  the  unemployed 
by  placing  them  on  his  juries,  six  men  at  a  time,  at  the  rate  of  $i 
and  a  dinner  for  each  case. 

Most  of  the  work  provided  consists  of  grading,  road  making,  park 
improvements,  sewer  building,  or  laying  water  and  gas  pipe.  Port- 
land, Oregon,  and  Seattle,  Washington,  have  arranged  for  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  work  in  clearing  land  outside  the  city.  San  Diego, 
California,  has  had  for  three  years  a  municipal  farm  where  thirty 
men  at  a  time  are  taken  for  ten  days  each.  They  are  given  board 
and  lodging  and  50  cents  a  day.  The  men  have  been  almost  all 
casual  laborers,  some  under  suspended  sentences  from  the  police 
court,  yet  they  have  worked  well  and  the  plan  has  even  been  a 
financial  success. 

All  letters  received  from  the  officials  in  charge  of  these  public 
works  for  the  unemployed  consider  them  successful.  "The  city 
with  the  expenditure  of  $7,000  has  been  able  to  accomplish  work 
which  would  otherwise  have  cost  in  the  neighborhood  of  $14,000," 
"We  desire  to  compliment  the  workmen  for. their  industry.  Many 
of  them  are  unused  to  outdoor  labor,  but  all  of  them  worked  faith- 
fully and  well,"  are  some  of  the  expressions  received. 

One  city  offici;  I  summed  up  the  advantages  of  public  work  for  the 
unemployed  in  these  words :  "It  would  be  a  much  wiser  policy  for 
the  community  to  supply  work  at  fair  wages  in  times  of  industrial 
depression  than  to  dole  out  public  relief  to  able  bodied  men — better 
for  the  community  and  better  for  the  men." 


Ill 

THE  RELATION   OF  IRREGULAR  EMPLOYMENT   TO 
THE  LIVING  WAGE  FOR  WOMEN 


Prepared  for  the 
YORK  STATE  FACTORY  INVESTIGATING  COMMISSION 

In  Cooperation  with  the 

AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  ON  UNEMPLOYMENT 

By 

IRENE  OSGOOD  ANDREWS,  Assistant  Secretary 
AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  FOR  LABOR  LEGISLATION 


PREFACE 


Two  of  the  big  distinct  movements  which  have  recently 
emerged  from  the  heterogeneous  strivings  for  social  justice  of 
the  past  five  years  in  America  are  centered  about  the  problems 
of  unemployment  and  the  minimum  wage.  This  report  is  an 
attempt  in  a  small  way  to  bridge  the  gap  between  the  two  move- 
ments and  to  show  the  relation  of  one  to  the  other  in  so  far  as 
they  are  concerned  with  women  in  industry. 

In  this  investigation,  as  in  many  others,  material  of  value  was 
at  hand  in  voluminous  printed  reports.  But  the  bits  of  in- 
formation on  the  particular  topic  under  consideration  were 
scattered  and  elusive.  By  bringing  together  in  convenient  form 
the  main  existing  facts  and  by  analyzing  them  for  purposes  of 
comparison,  their  true  significance  is  brought  out.  The  analysis 
of  conditions  has  been  confined  mainly  to  irregular  employment 
over  a  yearly  period;  no  comparisons  for  long  periods  of  time 
have  been  attempted  in  this  report. 

The  three  main  sources  from  which  the  greater  part  of  the 
material  for  this  report  has  been  ferreted  out  are  the  searching 
investigations  made  during  the  past  few  years  by  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Labor,  the  Massachusetts  Minimum  Wage 
Commission,  and  the  Factory  Investigating  Commission  of  New 
York  State.  For  the  painstaking  examination  of  these  and 
numerous  scattering  articles  and  reports  cordial  acknowledg- 
ment is  here  made  to  Miss  Margarett  Hobbs  who  has  assisted  at 
every  step  in  the  preparation  of  this  report. 

I.  0.  A. 


THE   RELATION   OF   IRREGULAR  EMPLOYMENT 
TO  THE  LIVING  WAGE  FOR  WOMEN 


I.     INTRODUCTORY   SUMMARY 

STATEMENT  OF  THE  PROBLEM 

In  the  discussion  of  the  legal  minimum  wage  for  women,  pro- 
vided for  by  nine  states  in  1912  and  1913,  practically  all  of  the 
emphasis  thus  far  has  been  placed  upon  only  one  of  the  two 
essential  factors,  namely  the  rate  of  pay.  Almost  no  attention 
has  been  given  to  the  other  equally  important  factor,  namely 
the  regularity  of  employment.  Both  factors  must  be  taken  into 
consideration  if  the  working  woman  is  to  receive  a  "  living 
wage." 

All  minimum  wage  rates  so  far  established  in  this  country 
have  been  weekly  rates  based  upon  the  necessary  cost  of  living 
per  week.  Such  wage  awards  therefore  really  set  rates  per  hour. 
In  effect  they  say,  "  You  may  have  a  living  wage  for  each  hour 
you  work,  but  if  you  have  no  work  you  must  get  along  the  best 
you  can."  For  the  awards  make  no  allowance  for  short  time  em- 
ployment To  establish  rates  which  will  take  unemployment 
into  account  is  admittedly  a  difficult  problem.  But  in  at  least 
one  country  this  need  has  been  recognized  and  effectively  dealt 
with. 

Mr.  Justice  Higgins  of  the  Australian  Commonwealth  Arbi- 
tration Court  recently  had  before  him  a  case  involving  a  mini- 
mum wage  for  dock  and  wharf  laborers.  He  refused  to  con- 
sider the  loosely  made  statements  concerning  weekly  wages  and 
took  as  his  basis  for  discussion  annual  earnings.  The  Justice 
said  "  The  vital  facts  of  the  position  are  that  the  work  is  casual 
and  uncertain,  that  jobs  are  short  and  that  the  necessities  of  the 
man  and  his  dependents  are  certain,  continuous  and  incessant. 
There  is  nearly  every  day  a  surplus  of  men  seeking  employment 
at  most  wharves.  *  *  *  It  is  lamentable  that  so  many  lusty 
men,  in  the  prime  of  life,  should  have  to  stand  about  idle  wait- 


292  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

ing  for  jobs.  The  frequent  bouts  of  idleness  must  often  lead  to 
bad  habits,  and  to  loss  of  muscular  condition.  There  is  a 
tremendous  waste  of  potential  human  energy  involved.  The 
men  serve  the  public  by  waiting  for  ships,  and  they  are  entitled 
at  least  to  food,  clothes,  and  shelter  for  themselves  and  depend- 
ents during  the  whole  time  of  this  service.  If  people  expect 
cabmen  to  be  ready  for  a  call  on  the  stand,  they  must  pay  an 
extra  rate  to  cover  the  time  lost  in  waiting.  It  would  be  absurd 
to  say,  as  has  been  urged  here,  that  the  obligation  of  the  master 
ceases  with  the  actual  physical  exertion,  for  '  they  also  serve  who 
only  stand  and  wait.' r 

The  justice  found  that  the  men  got  about  30  hours  of  work 
per  week  taking  slack  and  busy  seasons  together.  The  mini- 
mum cost  of  living  was  found  to  be  51s.  a  week;  at  Is.  9d.  an 
hour  for  30  hours  a  man  would  receive  52s.  6d.  per  week.  The 
rate  therefore  of  Is.  9d.  per  hour  was  fixed  upon  with  time  and 
a  half  for  overtime.  This  reward  is  provisional  and  can  be  re- 
vised as  soon  as  the  employers  "  set  their  house  in  order  "  and 
devise  some  means  whereby  more  steady  work  will  be  provided. 

The  need  of  correlating  a  wage  award  with  the  number  of 
hours  during  which  work  can  reasonably  be  expected  has  been 
recognized  by  a  few  English  writers,  also.  Mrs.  Hubback  writ- 
ing in  the  New  Statesman  for  February  21,  1914  (Supplement 
p.  Ill)  says  "  rates,  whether  time  or  piece,  mean  nothing  till  we 
know  the  average  received  during  the  year."  In  the  same  jour- 
nal for  June  6,  1914  (p.  264)  it  is  stated  that  if  the  employers 
refuse  to  change  their  system  of  employment1  they  "  must  be 
compelled,  by  the  extension  of  the  Trade  Boards  Act  or  by  some 
other  administrative  machinery  to  pay  a  rate  of  wages  which 
will  assure  to  all  *  *  *  whose  services  are  required  at  one 
time  or  another  a  rate  of  wages  indubitably  sufficient  to  provide 
a  tolerable  living  wage."  Again  and  again  when  legislation  has 
been  proposed  which  would  interfere  with  the  "  individual  free- 
dom "  of  the  employer  the  cry  has  been  raised  that  if  we  inter- 
fere with  industry  we  are  injuring  the  workman  since  he  is  de- 
pendent on  the  industry  for  his  livelihood.  In  brief  "  we  will 
take  care  of  our  workmen."  But  what  becomes  of  the  employer's 

JSee  also,  p.  310. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  293 

responsibility  for  his  employees  when  orders  for  his  wares  are 
irregular  or  times  are  bad?  It  appears  that  some  employers  at 
least  feel  responsible  only  when  it  is  convenient  or  profitable  for 
them,  for  at  other  times  we  read  "  factory  closed  indefinitely/' 
or  u  mills  now  running  half  time  "  or  "  10,000  workers  laid  off.'7 

The  importance  of  regular  work  has  also  been  recognized  in 
America.  The  Massachusetts  Commission  of  1911  said  "  Regu- 
larity of  employment  is  as  vital  to  the  worker  as  a  living  wage. 
It  presents  another  problem  but  yet  one  inextricably  bound  up 
with  the  question  of  what  wages  are  necessary  to  maintain  the 
employees  of  any  given  industry.7'1  The  Massachusetts  Wage 
Board  for  the  brush  industry  also  saw  the  need  of  something 
more  than  an  hour  rate.  "  Any  minimum  wage  finding  which 
stops  with  merely  naming  a  minimum  hourly  rate  merely  looks 
well  on  paper,  but  accomplishes  no  actual  result  beyond  a  some- 
what pale  moral  effect."2 

It  must  be  obvious,  therefore,  to  all  thoughtful  students  of  the 
problem  that  if  we  seriously  desire  to  secure  for  working  women 
a  living  wage  we  must  either  (1)  grant  them  a  wage  rate  suf- 
ficiently high  to  cover  periods  of  unavoidable  unemployment  or 
(2)  devise  some  method  whereby  fairly  steady  employment  will 
be  supplied.  Some  system  of  unemployment  insurance  might 
also  well  be  considered  in  this  connection.  The  problem  is  a 
difficult  one  and  invites  the  serious  attention  of  those  interested 
in  the  welfare  of  working  women. 

THE  ECONOMIC  HELPLESSNESS  OF  WOMEN 
The  position  of  women  in  respect  to  the  problem  of  unemploy- 
ment is  one  of  peculiar  helplessness.  The  entire  industrial  situa- 
tion for  them  is  beclouded  by  the  tradition  of  their  economic  de- 
pendence. The  right  to  a  just  and  full  compensation  for  one's 
labor  regardless  of  questions  of  dependency  is  not  yet  universally 
accepted.  Perhaps  unconsciously  the  employer  is  influenced  by 
this  belief  that  women  do  not  seriously  desire  permanent  employ- 
ment. He  therefore  frequently  maintains  toward  female  em- 
ployees an  attitude  of  irresponsibility.  This  belief  is  aggravated 

1  Report  of  the  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage  Boards,  1912, 
p.  162. 

2  Massachusetts  Minimum  Wage  Commission,  Bulletin  Xo.  3,  p.  28. 


294  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

by  the  fact  that  many  working  girls  themselves  look  forward  to 
marriage  and  withdrawal  from  industry  within  a  few  years  and 
therefore  do  not  have  a  strong  incentive  to  strive  for  steady  perma- 
nent work. 

Irresponsibility  on  the  part  of  both  the  employer  and  the  em- 
ployee is  accentuated  by  the  present  unregulated  system  of  em- 
ployment found  in  most  industrial  establishments,  and  also  by  the 
very  nature  of  women's  work.  In  the  first  place  it  is  very  largely 
in  seasonal  trades,  and  in  most  of  these  we  find  a  constant  flux  of 
workers,  employed  here  or  there  for  a  few  days  or  weeks  and  then 
passing  on  to  the  next  job.  In  the  confectionery  and  the  paper 
box  industries  in  New  York  City  in  1913,  for  instance,  the  State 
Factory  Investigating  Commission  says  in  its  report,  that  three 
times  as  many  people  as  the  firms  ordinarily  employ  at  any  one 
time,  entered  and  left  the  industry  during  the  year.  This  great 
shifting  army  is  in  no  position  to  care  for  itself  during  periods 
of  idleness  by  saving  money,  for  wages  in  this  unskilled  group 
are  notoriously  low,  and  indeed  there  is  ample  evidence  that  but 
few  working  women  receive  wages  sufficiently  high  to  justify 
saving.  Moreover,  very  few  women  belong  to  trade  unions  or 
benefit  organizations  of  any  sort.  But  even  among  the  more  highly 
skilled  organized  women  the  percentage  of  unemployment  i?  very 
great,  running  in  New  York  as  high  as  12  per  cent,  at  the  end  of 
March,  1912,  and  6  per  cent,  at  the  end  of  September,  1912. 

Women  workers,  too,  as  a  class  are  especially  immobile.  The 
majority  of  women  workers  are  young  and  many  of  them  live 
with  their  families.  Numbers  of  the  older  women  are  struggling 
to  support  their  children  or  to  help  in  maintaining  the  family  life. 
In  any  case,  it  is  very  difficult  for  them  to  move  from  town  to 
town  to  secure  work,  and  in  the  case  of  the  younger  girls,  at  least, 
it  is  obviously  highly  undesirable  for  them  to  leave  the  shelter 
and  protection  of  their  families.  These  peculiar  disadvantages 
besetting  the  woman  in  industry  make  the  problem  of  regular 
employment  and  a  living  wage  an  unusually  serious  and  difficult 
one.  Any  solution  must  necessarily  be  preceded  by  a  careful 
analysis  and  understanding  of  the  real  elements  which  go  to  make 
up  this  problem  of  assuring  a  real  living  wage  to  the  woman 
worker  who  is  not  only  poorly  paid  but  is  also  irregularly  em- 
ployed. 


Irregidar  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  295 

KINDS  OF  IRREGULAR  WORK 

The  problem  of  unemployment  is  so  complex  that  one's  im- 
pressions become  almost  kaleidoscopic.  If  the  point  of  view  is 
turned  ever  so  little,  behold,  one  has  an  entirely  new  picture  to 
study  and  analyze.  It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  report,  however, 
to  add  new  material  on  the  extent  of  unemployment,  but  rather 
to  analyze  and  present  in  more  detail  that  special  picture  which 
shows  the  effect  of  irregular  employment  upon  the  income  of 
women  workers. 

Irregular  work  is  of  several  varieties.  Most  obvious  is  that 
complete  loss  of  work  occurring  when  an  employee  is  dropped 
entirely  from  the  pay-roll  of  an  establishment.  Such  unemploy- 
ment means  the  stopping  of  all  income  and  the  discouraging  — 
often  heartbreaking  —  task  of  searching  for  a  new  job.  At  other 
times  the  employees  are  only  temporarily  "  laid  off."  One  de- 
partment may  be  closed  for  a  short  time,  or  perhaps  the  entire 
establishment  shuts  down  for  a  few  days  or  weeks.  Such  periods 
of  irregular  work  often  extending  over  several  months,  are  usu- 
ally accompanied  by  a  great  deal  of  "  short  time  "  work  —  that 
is,  employees  may  be  retained  on  the  pay-roll  but  have  work  for 
only  a  few  hours  a  day  with  two  or  three  days  a  week  entirely 
unemployed.  Thus  a  worker  who  averages  $7  or  $8  a  week  may 
earn  during  these  months  only  $4  or  $3  or  even  $2  a  week.  Not 
only  does  this  wage  loss  occur  with  piece  workers  but  it  affects 
with  almost  equal  force,  time  workers.  It  is  this  "  short  time  " 
work  which  plays  havoc  with  the  annual  income  of  the  steady 
worker  and  which  is  seldom,  if  ever,  balanced  by  the  short  period 
of  overtime  work  and  increased  earnings.  For  example,  Katia, 
a  skilled  garment  operative,  had  no  work  at  all  for  two  months  and 
a  half  during  the  year.  But  out  of  the  remaining  nine  months  and 
a  half  she  had  only  three  months  of  full-time  work.  During  the 
other  six  and  a  half  months  she  never  worked  more  than  five  days 
a  week  and  sometimes  as  little  as  two  days. 

Again,  firms  sometimes  make  a  practice  of  retaining  as  many 
of  their  workers  as  possible  during  the  dull  season  but  reducing 
the  rate  of  pay  in  place  of  "  laying  off  "  the  employees.  Both 
short  time  and  a  lower  rate  of  pay  reduced  earnings  in  the  case 
of  a  rose-maker  in  an  artificial  flower  establishment,  cited  by  Miss 
Van  Kleeck.  This  girl  "  who  earned  $9  a  week  in  the  busy  season 


296  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

was  employed  through  the  dull  summer  months,  but  she  worked 
only  three  days  a  week  with  half  pay,  except  for  an  occasional 
week  when  more  orders  were  received.  Even  then  she  was  paid 
$2  less  than  in  the  winter  for  a  full  week's  work,  a  premium  to 
the  firm  for  not  i  laying  her  off.'  "  1 

It  is  apparent  that  the  woman  industrial  worker  loses  for  prac- 
tically every  moment  when  she  is  not  employed,  even  though  she 
is  idle  through  no  fault  of  her  own.  This  unique  method  of  wage 
payment  for  the  factory  girl  is  quite  in  contrast  with  methods  of 
wage  payment  among  other  classes  of  workers.  Salaried  workers, 
for  instance,  such  as  stenographers,  clerks,  agents,  social  workers, 
teachers,  are  paid  a  certain  amount  for  a  given  period  of  time, 
usually  a  year  or  sometimes  a  number  of  months,  during  which 
time  there  may  be  many  idle  hours  without  affecting  the  income. 
Even  salesgirls,  paid  by  the  week,  often  have  periods  of  idleness 
during  a  day  for  which  they  do  not  lose  in  wages.  Still  another 
varied  group  of  workers,  practically  paid  by  the  piece,  includes 
public  chauffeurs,  cab  drivers,  waiters,  most  lawyers  and  phy- 
sicians. Such  workers  are  employed  and  paid  for  a  specific  job. 
But  fortunately  for  them  their  prices  are  adjusted,  not  only  to  the 
degree  of  skill  involved,  but  also  to  the  fact  that  employment  is 
not  continuous.  We  often  rebel  at  the  high  fee  of  the  cab  driver 
or  the  doctor,  and  fail  to  realize  that  in  addition  to  skill  we  are 
paying  for  the  unemployed  time  of  the  man  or  woman.  In  con- 
trast with  these  classes  of  workers  the  factory  girl  is  paid  prac- 
tically for  only  the  minutes  when  she  is  working.  Even  in  laun- 
dries where  work  is  fairly  steady,  time  clocks  are  being  installed, 
the  workers  sent  off  if  they  finish  a  few  minutes  early  and  corre- 
sponding deductions  from  their  wages  made.2 

So  serious  is  the  need  of  a  steady  income  that  even  many  of 
those  who  have  received  industrial  training  in  certain  lines  of 
employment  have  been  compelled  to  give  up  their  chosen  work 
for  something  that  offered  a  more  steady  income.  Miss  Oden- 
crantz  writing  in  the  Survey  for  May  1,  1909,  (p.  202)  states 
that  one-quarter  of  420  girls  who  had  graduated  from  a  trade 
school  had  left  the  trades  for  which  they  were  trained  because 


1  "Artificial  Flower  Makers,"  Mary  Van  Kleeck,  p.  43. 

2  Report  of  the  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage  Boards,  1912, 
p.  155. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  297 

their  employment  was  too  irregular,  and  turned  to  others  whose 
only  common  element  was  that  of  greater  steadiness  of  employ- 
ment. For  instance,  Elizabeth  and  her  sister  Emily  made  chil- 
dren's dresses  for  several  years.  In  busy  times  they  could  earn 
from  $6  to  $9  a  week,  but  when  the  slack  season  came  they  made 
only  $3  or  $4  and  wasted  much  time  waiting  for  work.  They 
were  usually  laid  off  after  Christmas  for  about  three  weeks  and 
for  several  months  in  the  summer.  Since  the  mother  was  a  widow 
and  it  was  necessary  for  the  girls  to  keep  up  the  home,  both  finally 
turned  to  telephone  operating,  where  each  has  steady  work  at 
$7  a  week.  Elizabeth  said :  "  Dressmaking  is  a  nice  trade,  and 
may  be  all  right  for  other  girls,  but  I  have  to  support  myself  and 
make  more  than  pin  money.  I  can't  afford  to  stay  home  three  or 
four  months  every  year." 

In  brief,  then,  we  demand  that  the  factory  girl  be  on  hand 
the  moment  she  is  "wanted,"  but  the  time  she  wastes  waiting  to 
be  "  wanted "  is  usually  not  cared  for  in  any  way  nor  are  any 
steps  taken  as  a  rule  to  reduce  this  waiting  period  to  a  minimum. 
This  unjust  and  unsocial  policy  tells  its  story  in  the  anaemic  and 
under-nourished  girl,  the  tubercular  girl,  the  criminal  girl  and  at 
times  in  the  girl  "  gone  wrong." 

ANNUAL  INCOMES 

This  study  of  the  actual  incomes  of  working  women  brings  out 
clearly  the  indisputable  fact  that  "  rate  of  pay  "  is  but  little  in- 
dication of  income.  And  this  applies  not  alone  to  those  younger 
"  irregular "  workers  as  yet  unskilled  and  undisciplined  who 
suffer  from  lack  of  work  and  low  earnings,  but  it  is  found  that 
for  trained  and  experienced  workers  also,  the  actual  income  falls 
from  10  per  cent,  to  20  per  cent,  below  the  possible  income  based 
on  "  rate  of  pay."  It  is  practically  impossible  for  the  usual 
official  statistics  of  "  days  in  operation  yearly "  or  "  average 
number  employed  by  months  "  to  reveal  this  situation,  but  it  is 
clearly  seen  in  the  more  intensive  investigations,  particularly  when 
the  total  numbers  employed  each  month  are  compared  with  the 
total  amounts  paid  out  in  wages  each  month.  The  totals  for  each 
week  bring  out  the  contrast  even  more  clearly.  In  the  paper  box 
industry  in  New  York  City,  during  the  year  beginning  Novem- 
ber, 1912,  the  difference  between  the  largest  and  smallest  num- 


298  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

bers  employed  each  month  was  only  8  per  cent.,  but  this  rose  to 
12  per  cent,  when  weekly  totals  were  compared.  In  contrast  with 
this  is  the  difference  between  the  largest  and  smallest  amounts 
paid  out  in  wages.  The  difference  in  monthly  wage  totals  was  15 
per  cent.,  but  this  rose  to  30  per  cent,  when  weekly  totals  were 
compared.  While,  therefore,  the  numbers  employed  varied  only 
12  per  cent,  from  the  busiest  to  the  slackest  week,  the  weekly 
wage  totals  varied  30  per  cent.,  indicating  that  while  many  em- 
ployees were  kept  on  the  pay-roll  their  wages,  through  short-time 
work,  were  being  reduced  very  much  below  normal.  In  the  mak- 
ing of  women's  clothing  in  New  York  'City  the  difference  in  the 
average  numbers  employed  in  1912  by  months  was  46  per  cent., 
while  the  monthly  wage  variations  rose  to  60  per  cent.  In  the 
confectionery  industry  in  New  York,  during  the  year  beginning 
September,  1912,  the  greatest  weekly  variation  in  numbers  was 
25  per  cent.,  whereas  the  corresponding  variation  in  wages  was 
35  per  cent. 

Comparisons  between  actual  and  possible  earnings,  based  on 
average  weekly  earnings  and  rate  of  pay,  reinforce  these  facts. 
In  the  paper  box  industry  in  New  York  City,  94  per  cent,  of  a 
selected  group  of  246  women  working  under  conditions  above  the 
average  earned  less  than  their  scheduled  rate  of  pay.  Out  of  this 
94  per  cent.,  62.1  per  cent,  fell  more  than  10  per  cent,  below  their 
possible  earnings  for  the  period  worked,  and  41  per  cent,  fell  more 
than  15  per  cent,  below.  In  the  confectionery  industry  in  a  sim- 
ilarly selected  group  of  1,063  workers,  89.7  per  cent,  earned  less 
than  their  scheduled  rate  of  pay.  Out  of  this  89.7  per  cent.,  63.4 
per  cent,  fell  more  than  10  per  cent,  below  their  possible  earnings 
for  the  period  worked,  and  44.6  per  cent,  fell  more  than  15  per 
cent,  below.  The  average  loss  in  actual  earnings  compared  with 
rates  for  both  groups  was  approximately  15  per  cent. 

An  investigation  by  the  Connecticut  Commission  on  the  Condi- 
tions of  Wage-Earning  Women  and  Minors1  showed  that  for  942 
females  in  the  cotton  industry  the  computed  full  time  earnings 
were  $9.17  while  the  average  actual  weekly  earnings  were  only 
$8.05,  a  loss  of  13.9  per  cent. ;  in  the  silk  industry  for  1,175  fe- 
males the  corresponding  figures  were  $7.40  and  $6.26,  a  loss  of 
1  Renort  of  Feb.  4.  1913,  pp.  67.  91.  153.  171.  200 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  299 

18.2  per  cent. ;  in  brass  factories  for  662  females,  the  figures  were 
$7.87  and  $6.89,  a  loss  of  14.3  per  cent.;  in  the  hardware  indus- 
try for  701  females  the  figures  were  $6.79  and  $5.95,  a  loss  of 

14.1  per  cent. ;  in  the  metal  trades  for  2,541  females  the  figures 
were  $7.41  and  $6.50,  a  loss  of  13.9  per  cent.     These  results  are 
taken  from  50  factories  in  14  localities,  and  the  average  actual 
weekly  hours  worked  were  51  for  all  the  industries  except  silk 
where  the  average  hours  were  50  per  week,  full  time  for  most  of 
these  establishments  being  the  legal  58  hours  per  week. 

For  the  year  1913  the  Wisconsin  State  Federation  of  Labor 
reported  that  among  organized  women  workers,  where  one  would 
expect  to  find  relatively  good  conditions,  the  possible  annual  earn- 
ings  averaged  $483,  while  actual  earnings  fell  to  $429,  a  loss  ot 

11.2  per  cent.     For  all  union  garment  workers  including  many 
women,  the  average  loss  was  15.7  per  cent.     Losses  among  un- 
organized workers  would  unquestionably  be  higher. 

In  her  study  on  "  The  Living  Wage  for  Women  Workers/7 
Miss  Bosworth  found  that  the  factory  workers  she  studied  had  an 
average  yearly  income  of  "  nominally  "  $406.99.  But  they  lost 
an  average  of  nearly  13  per  cent,  from  "  slack  work  and  no 
work,"  or  $52.38,  reducing  their  average  annual  income  in  this 
way  to  $354.61.  Miss  Bosworth  therefore  concluded  that  "  the 
nominal  rate  is  from  4  per  cent,  to  14  per  cent,  above  the  actual 
earnings."  However,  this  is  an  average  for  all  trades ;  for  those 
where  considerable  irregularity  exists  investigations  show  that  at 
least  15  per  cent,  should  be  added  to  any  wage  rate  in  order  to 
cover  losses  from  short-time  work.  The  alternative  to  this  would 
be,  of  course,  to  make  employment  more  regular  and  to  consider 
some  form  of  unemployment  insurance. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  material  values  in  dollars  and  cents, 
perhaps,  the  usual  official  wage  statistics  of  "  averages  "  may  be 
of  value.  But  for  the  human  being  who  must  have  clothing, 
shelter  and  a  certain  amount  of  food,  if  not  the  proverbial  three 
square  meals  each  day,  the  average  wage  or  average  loss  of  any 
group  of  workers  has  but  little  more  meaning  than  "  rate  of  pay." 
While  group  averages  show  wage  losses  of  about  15  per  cent.,  yet 
when  the  wages  of  individual  girls  are  taken  out  of  the  statistical 


300  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

mass,  we  frequently  find  variations  for  the  time  they  are  on  the 
payroll,  of  75  per  cent,  between  the  largest  and  smallest  amounts 
received  each  week,  with  losses  from  possible  earnings  running  as 
high  as  35  per  cent.  Take  the  story  of  Tina,  for  instance.  Tina 
was  a  machine  operator  in  a  clothing  factory.  During  the  busy 
seasons,  her  weekly  wage  averaged  $7  or  $8  a  week.  But  in  order 
to  come  up  to  this  level  she  had  to  work  overtime  till  8  o'clock  in 
the  evening  for  two  or  three  nights  a  week  during  the  height  of  the 
season.  And  work  was  so  dull  in  the  other  half  of  the  year,  that 
her  average  weekly  wage  then  fell  to  $3  or  $3.50  a  week  and  her 
total  income  for  the  year  was  only  about  $262.*  She  lost  during 
the  year  about  a  third  of  her  full-time  wage.  Well  may  such  a 
girl  ask,  "  What  do  I  care  if  I  average  $6.12  a  week  for  the  year. 
If  I  have  to  live  for  seven  or  eight  weeks  in  January,  February 
or  March  on  $4  or  $3,  or  even  $2  a  week,  with  now  and  then 
nothing  at  all,  how  is  it  going  to  help  me  if  I  earn  $8  or  $10  for 
four  or  five  weeks  next  November  or  December  ?  "  From  the  point 
of  view  of  a  living  wage  for  the  individual  a  certain  steady  income 
must  be  assured  each  week.  With  wages  for  the  great  majority 
too  low  to  permit  a  margin  for  saving  it  otherwise  becomes  im- 
possible for  a  worker  to  plan  wisely  or  to  maintain  her  standard 
of  self  respect  or  efficiency. 

OVERTIME 

The  facts  invariably  discovered  in  every  industry  make  it 
impossible  for  anyone  to  say  "  Well,  after  all  they  make  as  much 
by  overtime  work  in  the  rush  season  as  they  lose  in  dull  times." 
In  the  first  place,  the  amount  of  overtime  is  far  less  in  actual 
hours  than  the  amount  of  slack  time;  and  what  overtime  there 
is,  is  not  worked  by  the  entire  force.  For  example,  only  a  third 
of  the  women  employed  in  decorating  glass  worked  any  overtime 
at  all,  according  to  the  federal  investigation  of  1907-8.  The 
overtime  worked  by  this  minority  of  the  employees  occurred  an 
average  of  thirteen  times  and  was  most  often  of  two  to  four 
hours  duration.  Some  forty  hours  of  overtime  yearly  worked 
by  a  third  of  the  women  cannot  bring  in  a  return  which  will 

1  "Making  Both  Ends  Meet,"  Sue  Ainslee  Clark  and  Edith  Wyatt,  p.  121. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  301 

make  up  for  the  entire  closing  of  many  glass  factories  during 
the  two  summer  months  —  a  sixth  of  the  year.  Then  often 
there  is  no  extra  payment  for  the  overtime  of  time  workers. 
Salesgirls,  for  example,  seldom  get  anything  extra  except  "  sup- 
per money."  Three-fifths  of  the  Washington,  D.  C.,  factory 
girls,  a  government  investigation  in  1911  showed,  were  not  paid 
for  their  after-hours  work.  Again  the  output  of  piece  workers 
is  very  likely  to  fall  off  relatively,  because  they  grow  so  tired 
during  the  long  hours,  that  their  gains  are  much  less  propor- 
tionally than  their  length  of  time  at  work  would  indicate. 

An  instance  of  this  last  fact  is  a  computation  of  the  hourly 
wages  of  three  piece-workers  in  a  Milwaukee  tannery.  The 
women  were  paid  bi-monthly,  and  their  regular  working  hours 
during  each  fortnight  were  120.  One  earned  1-8  cents  an  hour 
working  full  time,  while  working  over  time  her  hourly  earnings 
fell  as  low  as  12  cents.  The  hourly  earnings  of  the  second  were 
reduced  from  20  cents  as  low  as  8  cents  when  she  worked  over- 
time and  the  third  suffered  a  reduction  of  hourly  earnings  from 
15%  cents  to  about  10%  cents  under  the  same  conditions.1 

In  the  Boston  study  of  factory  girls'  budgets,  previously  re- 
ferred to,2  it  was  found  that  they  lost  nearly  13  per  cent,  on  ac- 
count of  industrial  conditions.  They  gained  less  than  1  per  cent 
from  overtime,  only  $3.76,  while  they  lost  an  average  of  $52.38, 
yearly.  But  the  serious  evils  of  overtime  work  are  too  well 
known  to  justify  any  fair  minded  person  in  countenancing  long 
hours  as  a  possible  means  of  making  up  wage  losses  due  to  under- 
employment. 

DOVETAILING 

Just  how  extensive  is  the  opportunity  for  a  woman  thrown 
out  of  work  in  one  trade  to  find  employment  quickly  in  another 
is  a  matter  on  which  there  is  but  little  reliable  information.  As 
an  index  of  conditions,  however,  a  comparison  has  been  made,  of 
the  numbers  employed  by  months  in  ISTew  York  City  and  "  up- 
state "  for  the  various  industries  for  which  such  information  was 


1  "  Women  Workers  in  Milwaukee  Tanneries,"  Irene  Osgood,  in  Report  of 
Wisconsin  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,   1907-8.  Part  VII,  p.   1058. 

2  "  The  Living  Wage  for  Women  Workers,"  M.  Louise  Bosworth,  pp.  33-40. 


302  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

available.  (See  Charts  I  and  II.)  Generally  speaking,  it  may 
be  seen  that  the  busy  seasons  either  coincide  or  overlap  suffi- 
ciently to  make  anything  like  complete  dovetailing  an  utter  impos- 
sibility. In  almost  all  of  them  there  are  two  busy  seasons  com- 
ing in  the  spring  and  fall  and  two  dull  seasons,  one  after  Christ- 
mas and  the  other  in  the  summer.  There  are  differences  in  the 
degree  to  which  the  numbers  fluctuate,  but  variations  follow  the 
same  general  course  except  in  the  manufacture  of  shirts  in  Xew 
York  City.  There  the  fall  busy  season  occurs  as  in  other  trades, 
but  spring  is  the  dullest  time  and  the  summer  is  active.  But 
since  the  busiest  season  in  shirt  making  comes  in  the  late  fall 
along  with  that  of  all  the  other  industries,  it  would  be  impossible 
for  unemployed  operatives  of  other  trades  to  turn  to  shirt-making 
during  their  slack  summer  period  without  displacing  regular  em- 
ployees whose  services  would  be  needed  later  on,  when  the  former 
had  returned  to  their  usual  work. 

An  example  of  the  difficulties  of  overlapping  of  the  seasons  in 
various  industries,  was  brought  out  through  efforts  made  in  Bos- 
ton a  few  years  ago  to  find  work  for  milliners  during  the  summer 
dull  season.  Places  were  found  for  them  doing  film  developing, 
in  which  the  largest  number  of  workers  are  needed  during  the 
summer.  But,  in  order  to  get  positions,  the  girls  had  to  agree 
to  remain  till  October  1st,  whereas  they  were  needed  in  millinery 
by  the  first  of  'September.  A  similar  effort  was  made  to  dovetail 
their  work  with  that  of  rebinding  old  books,  which  is  another 
summer  occupation,  but  here  again  the  season  overlaps  about  a 
month  with  that  of  millinery. 

Any  successful  system  of  dovetailing  employments,  moreover, 
would  at  best  benefit  only  those  workers  who  lose  their  places 
entirely,  and  would  be  of  no  help  when  short  hours  were  worked 
or  a  few  days  lost  at  irregular  intervals,  as  happens  so  frequently. 
The  only  valid  conclusion  on  the  question  seems  to  be  that  drawn 
by  the  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage  Boards, 
in  1911,1  which  said,  after  careful  investigation,  "  ~No  worker 
can  count  on  casual  work  or  a  supplementary  job  to  fill  in  the 
time  lost  by  industrial  causes." 

i  Report  of  the  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage  Boards,  1912, 
p.  162. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  303 


CHART   1 
NEW  YORK   CITY 
AVERAGE   NUMBER   EMPLOYED  -BY  MONTH 

(MAXIMUM  =1OO%) 

IS 

100% 

80% 

60% 

40% 
100% 

80* 

60% 

40% 

100%' 

80% 
60% 

40% 
100% 

80% 

100%; 

•  — 

—•^. 

—  ••  —  . 

—  ./ 

/— 

^ 

•  '"***> 

N, 

—  •—  - 

40% 

CON 
NAL 
SEPT. 

FECT 
i  AN 
1912 

ONEF 
)  FEJ. 
-SEP 

Y 
ALE 
T.1913 

ioo%7: 

•-  — 

—  «-^ 

^•-r— 

—  •—  _ 

•  —  •»-  

•  

,  •  

—^ 

4O%, 

PAF 
MAL 
NOV. 

'ER 
E  AN 

1912- 

BOXE 
>  FEf 
NOV. 

S 
IALE 
1913 

100% 

S 

/'^ 

^X 

\ 

/ 

-% 

\ 

/ 

\ 

/ 

/ 

40% 
100% 

8O%- 

OR! 
S 

SSA 

MAL 
ELEC 

ND  W 
E  AN 
TED 

AIST 
D  FEI 
SHOP 

INDU 
IALE 
S  19 

*iv 

12 

• 

/  v\ 
^ 

\ 
\>v 

~i 

A/ 

7* 

"•-• 

A 

\ 

/ 

f 

v* 

\ 

^( 
\ 

/ 
/ 

/ 

\ 

X 

\ 

\ 

40* 

Ml 
FE 

(MAN 

.LIN 
MALI 
<ATT 

ERY 

:  i9i: 

AN    0 

\ 

NLY) 

\ 
\ 

y 

2 

\'' 

\ 

40% 
100% 

8OSK 

60% 
40% 

8O%- 

\. 

^  — 

-- 

-- 

—  *  — 

—  ' 

' 

^~  \ 

\. 

60%-i 

MAL 
DEC. 

SH 
E  AN 
1912 

IRT'i 
D  FE 
•DEC 

4ALE 
1913 

40% 

JAN. 

APRIL 

•JUNE 

JULY 

AUG.' 

SEPT. 

OCT. 

NOV. 

DEC. 

304  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


CHART   II 
NEW  YORK,   UPSTATE 
AVERAGE  NUMBER   EMPLOYED   BY  MONTHS 

(MAXIMUM  =  10O%). 

CO! 
MAL 

FECTI 

EAM 

ONER1 
FEMA 

LE 

X 

/^ 

\ 

\ 

100* 
90% 

80% 

7OX 
100% 

90% 

80* 

70S< 
1OO% 

90% 

80% 

7  OX 
100% 

90% 

so* 

703< 

11  1913 

/ 

5 

70* 

•  -  ' 

^./ 

" 

\.— 

_—  •-" 

'^N 

\/ 

/ 

100% 

•-  

~"*\. 

> 

X- 

.-^ 



—.^ 

^ 

X**" 

—  -  ^" 

PAP 

MALE 
NOV. 

ER  B 
ANDF 

I9t2rl 

OXE 

EMAL 
IOV.U 

13. 

100% 

•^ 

^*x 

S*- 

•  

—  •  —  . 

-  —  • 

•0* 

1 

< 

\. 

v 

70X 

SH 

MALE 
OEC.1 

IRTS 

ANDF 
H2.-0 

EMAL 
EC.191 

L 

100% 

ST 
SALE 

)RE 
56IRL 

5 

51913. 

/ 

/ 

80%- 
70X 

*s 

">*-^ 

^- 

^.M 

^KE 

B«t 

\ 

/ 

/ 

/•" 

/ 
/ 

•»^ 

~--s' 

/* 

«f 

>/^ 

^ 

1 
^•~- 

\/ 

--r'' 

/+" 

--•x 

JAN. 

MAY 

JULY 

AUG. 

SEPT. 

OCT. 

NOV. 

•DEC. 

Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  305 

In  addition  to  this  "  time "  difficulty  a  worker  has  also  to 
consider  the  kind  of  work  to  be  done.  If  she  has  acquired  any 
skill  or  experience  in  a  particular  line  she  may  not  be  able  to 
turn  indiscriminately  to  an  entirely  different  kind  of  work. 
Such  a  change  of  occupation  may  mean  loss  of  skill  —  for  skill 
to-day  is  usually  experience  and  speed  in  one  particular  motion 
or  set  of  motions  and  tends  to  disappear  if  interrupted.  Among 
the  many  other  evils  besetting  the  girl  trying  to  piece  out  a  year's 
work  will  be  found  a  lowering  of  the  wage  standard,  breaking 
down  of  habits  of  regularity  thus  tending  to  inefficiency,  and  a 
lowering  of  self  confidence  resulting  in  a  loss  of  economic  bar- 
gaining power.  It  is  during  these  periods  of  searching  for  work 
that  temptation  to  immorality  becomes  strong.  A  vivid  picture 
of  the  human  meaning  of  job-hunting  was  given  in  a  Chicago 
paper  during  the  summer  of  1913 :  "  For  the  last  ten  days  I  have 
been  going  to  the  loop  every  day  to  look  for  work.  I  am  there 
at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning.  I  look  for  work  until  eleven. 
From  eleven  to  twelve  is  the  lunch  period  in  most  big  establish- 
ments and  it  is  useless  to  try  to  see  anybody  at  that  time.  My 
lunch  in  a  cafeteria  gives  me  a  rest  of  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes. 
Then  I  am  back  again  on  the  sidewalk.  The  chase  from  build- 
ing to  building  during  the  morning  and  the  constant  dodging  of 
automobiles  tire  me.  Is  there  a  place  where  I  can  go  to  rest?" 
Another  girl  summed  up  the  situation  as  follows :  "  Yes,  I  get 
the  papers  right  away  in  the  morning,  but  when  you  come  to  the 
place  there  are  always  so  many  others  waiting,  and  then  it  is  too 
late  to  go.  to  any  other  place.  Sometimes  the  man  takes  your 
name  and  says  he  will  let  you  know  in  a  couple  of  days.  You 
wait,  but  you  don't  hear  a  word  from  him.  Half  the  time  he 
doesn't  want  anybody.  I  just  hate  to  look  for  work.  You 
always  feel  kind  of  upset  like,  and  don't  feel  like  doing  anything 
at  home."1 

THE  LABOR  FORCE 

To  those  familiar  with  industrial  conditions  it  has  become  a 
commonplace  to  see  large  groups  of  workers,  particularly  women 
and  children,  suddenly  "  laid  off  "  at  certain  periods  of  the  year. 

i  Survey,  May  1,   1909,   p.   210. 


306  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

The  Christmas  "  lay  off "  in  department  stores  and  the  con- 
fectionery industry,  the  summer  "  dull  seasons  "  in  the  garment 
trades,  and  the  dismissal  of  milliners  after  the  "  season  "  is  over 
present  a  familiar  spectacle.  This  condition  has  been  illustrated 
by  facts,  figures,  charts,  curves,  diagrams  and  tables  —  all  of 
which  have  commanded  respectful  attention.  But  the  real 
problem  is,  who  is  at  fault  ?  How  many  are  thus  affected  ?  How 
seriously  do  they  suffer  ?  What  shall  be  done  about  them  ? 

In  the  analysis  of  the  situation  as  to  the  irregular  employment 
of  women  there  appear  three  main  classes  of  workers  fairly  well 
defined. 

1.  The  smaller  group  of  those  permanently  employed,  forming 
the  backbone  of  the  labor  force. 

2.  Those  who  are  employed  for  the  entire  busy  season,  but  are 
laid  off  at  its  close. 

3.  Those  who  drift  in  and  out  of  the  industry  working  only  a 
few  days  or  weeks  at  a  time  in  one  place. 

In  most  industrial  establishments  there  exists  that  smaller 
class  of  employees  (group  1)  consisting  of  the  more  skilled  and 
permanent  workers,  permanent  in  the  sense  that  they  remain  on 
the  payroll  for  at  least  a  year.  They  are  the  older  more  respon- 
sible workers  who  are  more  frequently  entirely  dependent  upon 
their  earnings,  often  with  relatives  or  families  dependent  upon 
them,  and  are  more  likely  to  be  employed  at  the  higher  rates  of 
wages.  Nominally  this  class  of  employees  is  referred  to  as 
"  steady "  workers  but  from  the  point  of  view  of  earnings  we 
have  seen  that  even  these  workers  suffer  large  wage  losses  due  to 
slack  work  in  the  dull  season. 

The  second  group  of  workers  consists  of  those  who  for  various 
reasons  are  dropped  from  the  payroll  from  the  time  the  dull  sea- 
son begins  until  the  arrival  of  the  busy  season.  In  some  lines  of 
work  such  as  confectionery  and  department  stores  a  very  large 
"  lay  off  "  occurs  immediately  after  Christmas.  In  other  kinds 
of  work,  as  in  paper  boxes,  the  "  lay  off  "  is  more  gradual.  There 
are  undoubtedly  a  few  employees,  some  of  them  perhaps  married, 
who  plan  to  go  into  the  industry  only  during  the  busy  season  in 
order  to  supplement  the  family  income,  perhaps  for  personal 


•     Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  307 

reasons  or  more  likely  to  tide  the  family  over  a  financial  depres- 
sion due  to  sickness  or  unemployment  of  the  male  breadwinner. 
But  the  larger  group  consists  of  responsible,  steady  women,  many 
of  them  entirely  dependent  on  their  own  resources,  others  with 
families  depending  upon  them.  These  are  the  workers  who 
suffer  most  by  enforced  periods  of  unemployment. 

On  the  other  hand  there  are  undoubtedly  in  this  class,  also, 
large  numbers  of  girls  to  whom  a  "  lay  off "  is  not  a  serious 
problem  —  girls  who  are  partly  or  entirely  supported  by  parents 
or  relatives  and  who  have  not  yet  felt  the  necessity  of  steady 
permanent  work.  This  class  of  workers  merges  into  the  last 
group  (3)  and  the  two  together  form  one  of  the  most  serious 
obstacles  to  the  responsible  worker  seeking  to  earn  a  living  wage. 

This  third  group  of  workers  consists  of  those  who  are  con- 
stantly shifting  in  and  out  of  the  industry  staying  only  a  few 
days  or  weeks  in  one  place.  The  existence  of  this  last  group  is 
made  clear  by  a  study  of  almost  any  payroll;  for  it  is  almost 
universally  true  that,  during  the  course  of  a  year,  for  one  posi- 
tion, a  succession  of  persons  are  hired  and  discharged,  or  leave 
for  some  reason.  The  State  Factory  Commission's  investiga- 
tion in  New  York  City  showed  that  in  the  confectionery  indus- 
try 45  per  cent.,  and  in  the  paper-box  industry,  40  per  cent, 
stayed  four  weeks  or  less  in  the  same  factory.  Miss  Van  Kleeck 
showed  that  in  millinery  52  per  cent,  stayed  only  eight  weeks  or 
less.  In  the  manufacture  of  men's  clothing,  a  more  steady  trade, 
an  investigation  of  conditions  in  the  five  leading  cities  in  the 
trade,  1907-8,  showed  that  28  per  cent,  of  the  women  worked  less 
than  five  weeks  in  the  same  place.  Among  salesgirls  the  condi- 
tions are  similar.  In  a  large  Boston  store  20.8  per  cent,  remained 
less  than  five  weeks,  while  a  Washington,  D.  C.,  investigation, 
showed  that  25  per  cent,  remained  three  months  or  less. 

The  following  table  giving  the  experience  of  the  seven  largest 
department  stores  in  New  York  city  for  1913  shows  a  like  enor- 
mous flux  of  employees  constantly  passing  through  their  doors. 
With  a  single  exception,  the  number  of  changes  is  greater  than 
the  average  number  employed. 


308  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


TABLE  1 
RETAIL  STORES,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  1913 

NUMBER  OF  EMPLOYEES  IN  THE  SEVEN  LARGEST  ESTABLISHMENTS 
(New  York  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission) 


Aveiage  number 
employed 

Number  added 
during  the  year 

Number  dropped 
or  leaving 
during  the  year 

5,000 

5,500 

4,296 
4,272 
3,750 
3,500 
3,497 
2,313 

5,979 
6,809 
12,159 
8,155 
875 
2,967 

5,950 
6,712 
10,382 
8,750 
940 
2,539 

In  laundries,  too,  a  very  great  shifting  of  workers  is  constantly 
taking  place.  One  Massachusetts  establishment  reported  that  57 
per  cent,  remained  less  than  three  months;  another  that  76  per 
cent,  remained  less  than  three  months;  while  a  Washington 
employer  stated  that  "  60  to  90  days  eliminates  a  crew  com- 
pletely." 

These  three  classes  are  of  course  not  defined  by  hard  and  fast 
lines.  They  merge  into  one  another  and  workers  are  constantly 
passing  from  one  class  to  another.  Frequently  bad  industrial 
conditions  will  throw  steady  workers  back  into  the  casual  labor 
class. 

In  the  women  employing  industries,  therefore,  it  is  apparent 
that  there  are  large  numbers  of  young  girls,  many  of  whom  have 
not  yet  reached  the  years  of  responsibility,  who  are  not  entirely 
dependent  upon  their  own  earnings  for  support  and  who  expect  to 
be  in  industry  for  only  a  short  time.  For  this  class  of  worker 
employment  is  largely  the  result  of  preference  or  custom  being 
to  some  extent  a  matter  of  pin-money  and  often  looked  upon  as  a 
means  of  release  from  monotonous  home  duties  to  be  replaced  by 
social  enjoyment  and  the  companionship  of  friends.  Were  it  not 
for  the  tragic  effect  which  the  presence  of  this  proportionally 
small  group  of  workers  has  upon  the  mass  of  women  employees 
we  might  pass  them  by  unnoticed.  But  in  this  very  group  lies 
the  key  to  not  a  little  of  the  distress  of  the  larger  more  responsible 
group. 

It  is  this  great  throng  of  young,  untrained,  undisciplined  work- 
ers which  supplies  the  employer  with  help  for  the  few  busy  months. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  309 

At  other  times  they  drift  in  and  out,  from  establishment  to  estab- 
lishment or  from  trade  to  trade,  taking  positions  at  whatever  they 
can  get,  keeping  out  the  older  girls  who  are  accustomed  to  a 
slightly  higher  wage,  and  cutting  down  the  income  of  the  steady 
responsible  worker.  Because  this  class  of  casuals  is  ever  present 
the  employer  finds  it  easier  to  take  them  as  they  come  and  any 
question  of  regularizing  his  business  is  passed  by.  In  this  way 
they  increase  the  discontinuous  employment  of  the  steady  worker, 
and  tend  to  make  permanent  a  disorganized  labor  market. 

The  employer,  too,  has  frequently  complained  of  the  irrespon- 
sibility of  these  workers.  On  this  point  one  Massachusetts  em- 
ployer said,  "  the  result  of  a  big  seasonal  demand  for  female  labor 
like  this  means  that  during  the  dull  time  of  the  year  the  girls  we 
discharge  at  Christmas  drift  into  other  lines  of  employment,  con- 
sequently, when  our  biggest  demand  comes,  from  September  to 
December,  we  are  compelled  to  again  teach  many  inexperienced 
girls.  The  small  output  and  loss  through  spoilage  of  the  inexperi- 
enced girls  make  them  undesirable  help.  In  many  cases,  even 
at  a  small  rate  of  pay,  they  increase  the  labor  cost  on  the  goods 
materially."  Of  these  "  only  a  small  percentage  become  of  any 
value  as  actual  producers.  Of  a  lot  of  say  50  girls  hired  on  Mon- 
day morning  we  will  often  lose  or  discharge  25  of  them  before  the 
end  of  the  week.  Before  the  end  of  the  second  \veek  the  lot  will 
sometimes  be  reduced  to  10."1  Another  Massachusetts  employer, 
speaking  of  the  "  heedlessness,  irresponsibility,  and  lack  of  ambi- 
tion "  found  in  such  young  workers,  declared  that,  because  he  had 
to  employ  so  many  of  them,  "  the  problem  of  candy  making  is  the 
labor  question."2  In  short,  the  presence  of  this  class  of  workers 
is  one  of  the  main  causes  for  the  existing  disorganization  of  indus- 
trial employment.  Moreover,  most  of  their  employment  is  at 
work  which  neither  trains  them  nor  offers  them  the  opportunity  of 
any  great  advancement.  Their  presence  in  industry  cannot  be 
justified  from  any  social  point  of  view. 

Before  we  can  hope,  therefore,  to  handle  effectively  the  problem 
of  regular  employment  and  a  real  living  wage  for  the  older  and 
needy  worker,  and,  as  a  first  step  toward  the  better  organization 

1  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage  Boards,  1912,  p.  66. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  53. 


310  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

of  industry,  particular  attention  must  be  given  to  this  special  class 
of  workers. 

The  first  step  toward  such  a  program  obviously  would  be  to 
reduce  the  supply  of  this  untrained  and  irresponsible  group  by 
partially  shutting  them  out  of  industry  for  a  period  of  time.  The 
present  age  of  admission  to  industry  in  several  states  is  sixteen 
years.  By  extending  this  limitation  to  all  states  and  extending 
this  controlled  period  possibly  up  to  the  age  of  eighteen  a  great 
mass  of  casual  labor  would  at  once  be  removed,  and  would  leave 
the  field  open  for  older  and  more  responsible  workers.  During 
these  years  attention  could  be  given  to  the  proper  physical  and 
educational  training  of  young  women.  With  the  increased  em- 
phasis that  is  being  placed  upon  industrial  education,  this  period 
might  well  be  devoted  to  a  combination  of  technical  and  general 
training,  together  with  practical  experience  in  shop  work.  For 
it  will  probably  always  be  true  that,  due  to  changing  seasons  and 
emergency  demands,  many  industries  will  need  for  certain  short 
periods  of  time  extra  help.  By  supplying  this  demand  as  far  as 
possible  from  the  group  of  young  women,  practical  shop  training 
would  be  secured  and,  in  addition,  the  wages  earned  would  aid 
in  relieving  economic  pressure.  The  extent  of  actual  factor}7 
work  should  be  limited  to  certain  periods  at  the  discretion  of  the 
educational  authorities,  and  the  actual  placing  in  establishments 
should  be  made  through  the  medium  of  the  Labor  Exchanges. 
The  close  of  the  busy  season  would  then  find  the  workers  returning 
to  the  training  school  instead  of  drifting  from  place  to  place  and 
from  job  to  job  as  at  present. 

In  this  way  the  necessary  surplus  pool  of  labor  would  be  utilized 
to  the  best  advantage  of  all  concerned.  Such  physical  and  indus- 
trial training  would  better  prepare  young  women  for  a  useful, 
efficient  life,  and  at  the  same  time  would  leave  a  more  open  field 
of  employment  with  more  regular  work  at  higher  wages  for  the 
older  responsible  workers.  There  should  be  no  difficulty  in  secur- 
ing the  cooperation  of  the  employer  in  such  a  plan,  since  for  many 
years  his  constant  complaint  has  been  the  untrained,  careless  and 
irresponsible  character  of  so  large  a  part  of  the  labor  force.  In 
but  few  cases,  however,  has  there  been  sufficient  pressure  upon 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  311 

the  employer,  or  initiative  on  his  part,  to  cause  him  to  change  his 
present  haphazard  system  of  employment.  For  the  more  steady 
workers  who  nevertheless  suffer  periods  of  unemployment,  some 
form  of  unemployment  insurance  should  be  considered.  By  this 
method  the  wage  losses  would  be  distributed,  in  part  at  least,  be- 
tween all  parties  concerned  instead  of,  as  at  present,  allowing 
them  to  fall  entirely  upon  the  worker,  the  person  least  able  to 
bear  them. 

SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSION 

All  facts  agree  that  actual  earnings  fall  far  short  of  possible 
earnings  based  upon  "  rate  of  pay."  This  investigation  leads 
also  to  the  conclusion  that,  at  least  for  the  workers  here  con- 
sidered, the  average  girl  or  woman  loses  in  wages  an  amount  equal 
to  no  less  than  15  per  cent,  of  her  possible  earnings.  The  younger 
more  irregular  worker  loses  an  even  greater  amount. 

In  addition,  the  investigation  shows  that  very  many  of  the 
women  in  seasonal  trades  cannot  find  work  at  the  same  place  for 
the  entire  year,  while  in  many  trades,  from  a  quarter  to  one-half 
remain  in  one  place  only  three  months  or  less.  A  striking  illus- 
tration of  the  constant  flux  of  workers  in  and  out  of  different 
establishments  was  found  by  the  Factory  Investigating  Commis- 
sion in  the  records  of  one  large  ^ew  York  City  department  store, 
which  hired  over  12,000  employees  in  order  to  maintain  an  aver- 
age permanent  force  of  a  little  over  3,000.  In  ten  confectionery 
establishments  3,138  were  employed  to  maintain  an  average  force 
of  953  people.  In  nine  paper-box  establishments  1,657  were  em- 
ployed to  maintain  an  average  force  of  792  workers.  This  same 
shifting  is  found  everywhere  in  varying  degrees. 

It  must  be  quite  obvious,  therefore,  that  a  living  income  is  de- 
pendent not  only  upon  a  reasonable  daily  or  weekly  wage  but  also 
upon  reasonable  regularity  of  employment.  This  latter  problem 
presents  many  difficulties,  particularly  with  industry  disorganized 
as  at  present.  With  such  large  surplus  pools  of  labor  to  draw  from 
only  the  few  more  farsighted  employers  will  initiate  reforms  in 
their  systems  of  employment.  Moreover,  the  members  of  this 
surplus  pool  are  obtaining  practically  no  training  nor  are  they 


312  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

receiving  anything  approaching  a  living  wage.  But  by  withdraw- 
ing them  from  the  labor  market,  except  for  short  periods  during 
the  "  busy  season/7  the  much  needed  special  training  can  be  sup- 
plied and  positions  will  be  left  open  for  older  responsible  workers. 
Unless  reasonable  regularity  of  employment  can  be  definitely 
assured,  a  living  wage  through  the  year  can  be  secured  only  by 
setting  up  a  wage  rate  sufficiently  high  to  cover  unemployed  per- 
iods of  time,  or  by  establishing  seme  form  of  unemployment  in- 
surance. 


II.     STATISTICAL  ANALYSIS  OF  INDUSTRIES 


THE  PAPER  BOX  INDUSTRY 

INTRODUCTION 

Years  ago,  when  we  went  to  the  grocery  store  to  buy  crackers, 
the  grocer  scooped  them  up  out  of  a  barrel  and  put  them  into  a 
paper  bag  for  us.  Now  we  get  them  in  a  neat  little  paper  box. 
More  and  more  the  grocer's  shelves  are  filled  with  "  package 
goods,"  which  the  housewife  prefers  because  they  are  more  likely 
to  be  fresh  and  free  from  germs  and  dust.  Every  Christmas  sees 
a  greater  variety  of  fancy  articles  offered  for  sale  in  "  ornamental 
holly  boxes  suitable  for  gifts."  All  our  clothing,  hats,  and  shoes 
are  delivered  to  us  boxed.  The  ubiquitous  paper  box  serves  as 
container  for  articles  as  different  as  cigarettes  and  writing  paper, 
phonograph  records  and  ice-cream,  electric  light  bulbs  and  candy. 

GENERAL  STATISTICS 

With  such  an  increase  in  the  use  of  paper  boxes,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  last  few  years  have  witnessed  a  considerable  de- 
velopment in  the  industry.  According  to  the  United  States  Cen- 
sus of  Manufactures,  the  number  of  wage-earners  of  both  sexes 
employed  has  increased  from  some  27,000  to  nearly  40,000,  a 
gain  of  over  48  per  cent,  in  the  ten  years  between  1899  and  1909. 
The  manufacture  of  paper  boxes  is,  moreover,  one  of  the  large* 
"women-employing"  industries  of  the  United  States.  In  1909 
there  was  an  average  number  of  23,724  women  over  16  at  work 
in  paperbox  establishments,  as  against  20,527  in  1904,  and 
18,192  in  1899,  an  ir crease  of  30  per  cent,  in  the  decade,  though 
during  the  same  period  the  number  of  men  increased  67  per  cent. 
Although  women  at  present  form  almost  exactly  three-fifths  of 
the  total  number  of  wage  earners  in  paper  box  making  and  are 
thus  decidedly  in  the  majority,  yet  the  proportion  of  men  is  in- 
creasing, if  very  gradually.  In  1880,  women  formed  70  per  cent, 
of  the  entire  labor  force,  65  per  cent,  in  1899,  and  60  per  cent,  in 
1909. 


314:  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

This  tendency  toward  displacement  of  the  women  workers  may 
or  may  not  continue,  but  remembering  that  the  large  majority  of 
the  2,800  workers  under  16  are  girls,  the  statement  still  holds  that 
paper  box  making  is  "  woman's  work." 

New  York  employs  by  far  the  greater  number  of  women  workers 
in  this  industry,  nearly  8,000 ;  Pennsylvania  follows  with  over 
3,000;  Massachusetts  with  2,600,  and  Illinois  with  2,400.  In 
Ohio  are  found  1,500,  in  New  Jersey  nearly  1,400,  and  somewhat 
over  1,000  in  Connecticut.1  Nearly  6,000  more  are  scattered  in 
smaller  numbers  over  the  remaining  states. 

Owing  to  its  low  wage  level  this  industry  is  one  frequently  sug- 
gested for  investigation  by  Minimum  Wage  Commissions.  It  is 
therefore  especially  important  to  study  the  effects  of  irregularity 
on  wages  in  the  industry,  and  to  make  a  comparison  of  wage  rates 
and  actual  earnings  in  order  to  see  whether  or  not  a  minimum 
wage  rate  would  really  provide  a  paper  box  worker  with  a  living 
wage. 

SEASONAL  VARIATIONS 

The  seasonal  variations  which  exist  in  the  paper  box  industry 
naturally  depend  on  and  precede  variations  in  the  demand  for 
goods  "  put  up  in  pasteboard."  On  that  account,  the  work  on 
some  sorts  of  boxes,  such  as  those  for  cigarettes  and  shoes,  is 
reasonably  steady.  But,  on  the  whole,  the  buying  for  clothing 
in  the  spring  and  fall  and  the  Christmas  demand  for  all  sorts  of 
fancy  and  candy  boxes,  makes  the  industry  one  of  decided  seasonal 
irregularity. 

The  busiest  season  comes  in  the  fall,  from  Labor  Day  to  Christ- 
mas, followed  by  an  extremely  dull  season.  The  trade  revives 
again  for  several  weeks  before  Easter,  for  a  shorter  and  less  ex- 
treme rush  season,  produced  mainly  by  the  demands  of  the  cloth- 
ing trade.  Then  another  slack  period  lasts  well  through  the 
summer.  During  the  rush  times,  more  or  less  overtime  is 


i FANCY  AND  PAPER  BOXES 

Number  of  Women  Over  16  Employed  December  15,  1909 
[United  States  Census  of  Manufactures,  Vol.  IX,  Table  II  for  each  State] 

New  York 7,928        New  Jersey 1 ,387 

Pennsylvania 3 ,032        Connecticut 1 ,057 

Massachusetts 2,629        Other  States 5,932 

Illinois 2,478 

Ohio 1,518  Total 25,961 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  315 

worked  in  nearly  every  prosperous  factory  and  Sunday  work  also 
is  sometimes  found.  Most  manufacturers  believe  this  cannot  be 
avoided,  since  orders  come  at  short  notice  and  paper  boxes  are 
too  bulky  in  proportion  to  their  values  for  profitable  storage ;  the 
fire-hazard  also  is  too  great  to  risk  making  them  for  stock.  The 
reverse  of  the  two  busy  seasons  is  found  in  the  dullness  of  the 
trade  after  Christmas  and  its  still  greater  slackness  in  the  summer. 
Here  is  the  typical  seasonal  variation  of  so  many  of  the  industries 
where  large  numbers  of  women  are  found  —  very  busy  in  the  fall, 
dull  after  Christmas,  busy  in  the  spring  and  very  dull  in  the 
summer. 

Wherever  data  could  be  obtained,  from  Massachusetts  to  Cali- 
fornia, from  Maryland  to  Oregon,  and  in  the  great  industrial 
states  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Illinois  and  Wis- 
consin, a  like  alternation  of  rush  seasons  in  the  spring  and  fall 
with  slack  in  the  winter  and  summer  was  found.  For  instance,  in 
Philadelphia  an  investigation  of  five  firms  in  1913  disclosed  the 
fact  that  after  Christmas  they  made  wholesale  dismissals  to  the 
extent  of  24.3  per  cent,  of  their  force.  In  New  York  City  last 
year  the  Factory  Investigating  Commission  found  that  the  num- 
ber of  employees  rose  to  6,700  just  before  Christmas  and  fell  to 
6,100  directly  after  that  time.  What  this  irregularity  and  loss 
of  working  time  means  to  the  women  is  well  illustrated  by  the 
story  of  Rose,  a  Russian  girl,  twenty-three  years  old.  Her  family 
was  still  in  Russia,  so  she  had  to  look  out  for  herself  entirely.  In 
five  years  she  advanced  in  wages  from  $3.50  to  $5.50  a  week.  But 
out  of  this  meager  sum  she  had  to  save  enough  to  carry  her  over 
the  slack  season,  and  she  was  out  of  work  fourteen  weeks  during 
the  year.  This  made  her  average  weekly  earnings  just  $4.02  — 
over  25  per  cent,  lower  than  her  rate  of  wages.  Even  the  girls  nom- 
inally at  work  every  week  in  the  year  for  the  same  firm  are  found 
to  suffer  large  reductions  in  wages  on  account  of  their  short  hours 
in  the  dull  season.  One  girl  received  an  average  weekly  wage  of 
only  $6.14  instead  of  her  regular  rate  of  $7.25,  another  $8.27 
in  place  of  $9.45,  a  third  $4.58,  instead  of  $5.  These  are  exam- 
ples taken  quite  at  random.  For  a  girl  to  average  more  than  her 
rate  is  very  unusual.  These  facts  indicate  the  need  for  further 
study  of  the  irregularity  of  the  industry  and  its  effect  on  wages, 


316 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


CHART  V 
PAPER   BOXES,   NEW  YORK 
NOVEMBER  1912  -  NOVEMBER-  1913 
AVERAGE   NUMBER   EMPLOYED   AND 
TOTAL  -AMOUNT  WAGES   BY  MONTHS. 

(MAXIMUM  =  10O%) 

100% 

MALE  -AND   FEMALE 

100% 

/ 

f 

^ 

i 

r 

\- 

^"^j  

— 

90% 

/ 

\ 

4»i* 

l 

i 

-90% 

/ 

' 

X 
X 

1 

sx  / 

100% 

NEW  1 

rORK 

CITY 

80% 

•- 



~N 

\ 

/: 

/''^ 

-^ 

\ 

90% 

80% 

~~~*'^ 

\. 

—^ 

-^* 

-/ 

/ 

N» 

. 

90% 
80% 

UP-S1 

ATE 

_  _• 

Irregidar  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  317 

and  they  point  toward  the  conclusion  that  greater  regularity  of 
employment  as  well  as  a  minimum  wage  rate  is  needed  to  obtain 
for  the  steady,  responsible,  mature  women  workers  a  living  income. 

'STATISTICS    OF    IRREGULAR   EMPLOYMENT 

The  statistics  of  irregularity  most  commonly  found  in  state 
labor  reports  are  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  industry  rather 
than  that  of  the  workers,  and  are  those  of  "  average  number  of 
days  in  operation  yearly  "  and  "  average  number  employed  by 
months."  From  published  statistics  on  both  of  these  points  it 
does  not  appear  that  the  manufacture  of  paper  boxes  is  a  particu- 
larly seasonal  industry.  For  instance,  out  of  a  possible  305  work- 
ing days  yearly,  Massachusetts  factories  were  in  operation  290 
days,  and  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  factories  292  days  in 
1912. 

The  statistics  of  the  varying  "  number  employed  by  months  " 
during  the  year  are  also  shown  graphically  in  Chart  III.  The 
largest  number  in  any  one  month  is  considered  100  per  cent,  and 
the  per  cent,  for  every  other  month  reckoned  with  that  as  a  base. 
The  states  for  which  this  was  obtainable  and  the  latest  years  for 
which  it  is  compiled,  are  Massachusetts  in  1912,  New  Jersey  in 
1912  and  Wisconsin  in  1910.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  curve  for 
each  state  follows  a  similar  course  and  brings  out  the  fall  rush 
with  its  peak  in  November,  the  lesser  spring  busy  season,  the 
short  drop  in  January  and  the  long  dull  period  of  the  summer 
months.  The  situation  in  New  York  City  and  in  the  rest  of  the 
state  in  1913,  as  found  by  the  State  Factory  Investigating  Com- 
mission, is  also  presented  in  this  chart.  From  these  figures  the 
fluctuations  do  not  appear  to  be  extreme,  since  the  difference  be- 
tween the  largest  and  smallest  number  was  only  12  per  cent,  in 
Massachusetts  and  New  Jersey  in  1912,  18  per  cent,  in  Wisconsin 
in  1910,  and  8  per  cent,  in  New  York  for  the  year  ending  Novem- 
ber 1913. 

From  most  of  the  official  statistics,  then,  it  would  not  seem 
that  the  paper  box  industry  was  as  seriously  irregular  as  many 
others,  yet  the  contrary  is  the  fact.  A  consideration  of  what  these 
two  classes  of  statistics  show  and  do  not  show,  will  solve  the  puzzle. 
When  the  "  number  of  days  in  operation  yearly  "  is  given,  there 
is  nothing  to  tell  us  whether  one  department  or  all  are  at  work, 


318 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  319 

whether  or  not  those  at  work  are  on  full  time  or  whether  a  few 
scattered  girls  or  the  full  force  are  working.  Statistics  as  to 
"  average  number  employed  by  months  "  do  give  us  some  idea  of 
the  latter,  but  in  the  paper  box  industry  it  is  the  custom  not  to 
close  the  factory  for  any  length  of  time,  nor  to  dismiss  employees 
to  any  very  large  extent,  but  to  hold  as  nearly  as  possible  the  full 
force  on  short  time,  and  consequently  on  short  pay,  in  order  to 
have  the  workers  ready,  not  only  for  the  busy  season,  but  also  to 
take  care  of  the  occasional  order  that  may  come  in  from  time  to 
time.  The  more  detailed  statistics  following  will  show  further 
that  these  measurements  alone  by  no  means  bring  out  the  entire 
effect  of  irregular  employment  on  the  income  of  the  worker. 

SHIFTING 

In  the  paper  box  industry  the  flux  of  workers  is  very  great;  it 
is  a  constantly  changing  group  on  which  all  the  seasonal  variations 
fall.  In  New  York  City  in  1912-13,  only  a  quarter  of  the  women 
paper-box  workers  stayed  in  the  same  place  more  than  six  months. 
Three-fifths  stayed  three  months  or  less  (see  Chart  IV),  one-half 
less  than  two  months  and  two-fifths  four  weeks  or  less.  In- 
credibly large  numbers  drift  in  for  a  few  days  or  even  hours  and 
then  drift  out  again.  Only  15  per  cent,  were  what  might  be 
called  steady  workers,  staying  eleven  months  or  more  out  of  the 
year  in  the  same  establishment.  Three  times  as  many  people  as 
were  employed  at  any  one  time  were  dropped  and  added  during 
the  year.  It  is  of  course  true  that  many  of  these  changes  were 
undoubtedly  due  to  personal  reasons.  A  low-grade,  poorly  paid, 
little  skilled  body  of  workers  in  an  ever-changing  one.  Yet  such 
facts  as  the  wholesale  dismissal  of  workers  in  Philadelphia  after 
Christmas  previously  mentioned,  show  that  the  irregularity  oi 
the  industry  must  be  held  responsible  for  no  small  part  of  the  shift- 
ing. Here,  then,  is  the  casual  labor  force,  the  three-girls-for-two- 
jobs  state  of  affairs,  which  Beveridge,  the  English  authority,  be- 
lieves to  be  the  fundamental  cause  of  unemployment.  A  wage 
rate  that  made  no  allowance  for  irregularity  of  employment  would 
mean  little  to  these  people,  who  are  here  to-day  and  gone  to- 
morrow. Rather,  some  pressure  is  needed  that  will  force  them 
out  and  make  it  profitable  for  the  manufacturer  to  furnish  steady 
employment  to  responsible  workers. 


320  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


CHART  III 
PAPER   BOXES 
AVERAGE  NUMBER  EMPLOYED  BY  MONTHS 

(MAXIMUM  -  100%) 

10O% 
90X 

80X 
100% 
90% 
80% 
100% 
90% 
BOX 
100% 
90% 
80% 

100% 
90% 

wise 

;EMAU 

ONSII 

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1  1909. 
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1913. 
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80% 

JAN. 

FEB. 

MARCH 

APRIL 

MAY 

JUNE 

JULY 

AUG.. 

SEPT. 

OCT. 

NOV 

DEC. 

Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  321 

VARIATION  IN  EARNINGS 

In  order  to  discover  the  great  seriousness  of  seasonal  varia- 
tions in  this  industry,  we  must  turn  to  variations  in  earnings. 
The  first  point  to  be  considered  is  a  comparison  of  the  varia- 
tion in  earnings  with  the  variation  in  numbers,  month  by 
month.  Such  a  comparison,  for  New  York  City,  1912-13,  and  for 
the  rest  of  the  State,  as  given  by  the  State  Factory  Investigating 
Commission,  shows  a  considerable  loss  in  actual  as  compared  with 
possible  earnings.  In  these  monthly  averages  (see  Chart  V)  the 
extreme  weekly  variations  are  smoothed  out,  yet  there  is  a  15  per 
cent,  difference  between  the  largest  and  smallest  amount  of  wages, 
in  contrast  to  an  8  per  cent,  variation  in  numbers.  The  broken 
line,  it  will  be  noted,  drops  far  below  the  solid  one  showing  that 
for  those  employees  who  were  kept  on  the  pay  roll,  wages  fell  con- 
siderably below  normal.  But  by  taking  the  original  figures  for 
the  totals  of  wages  and  using  the  totals  per  week  instead  of  per 
month,  the  largest  amount  paid  out  is  found  to  be  $60,878  for 
the  last  week  of  September  and  the  smallest  $43,125  for  the  first 
week  of  January.  There  is  a  difference  here  of  nearly  30  per  cent. 
(29.3  per  cent.)  while  the  largest  difference  in  numbers  by  weeks 
is  just  about  12  per  cent.  This  result  corresponds  closely  to 
the  testimony  of  200  women  workers  questioned  by  the  Factory 
Investigating  Commission  about  their  weekly  wages  at  different 
seasons.  Their  average  weekly  pay  varied  from  $5.68  in  dull 
times  to  $8.13  in  the  busy  season,  a  difference  of  almost  exactly 
30  per  cent. 

The  New  York  City  investigation  further  shows  that  the 
"  ordinary  "  average  weekly  wage  of  a  woman  worker  was  $7.36. 
That  is  about  10  per  cent,  less  than  the  "  rush  reason  "  weekly 
wage.  We  have  similar  weekly  averages  for  women  workers  in 
California  and  Maryland  from  an  investigation  made  by  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Labor  in  1911.  There  was  a  difference 
of  more  than  20  per  cent,  between  the  weekly  average  for  rush 
and  normal  seasons  in  California  ($8.99  and  $7.03)  and  of  almost 
exactly  20  per  cent,  in  Maryland  ($6.24  and  $5.01).  Differences 
in  earnings  from  season  to  season  do  not  seem,  therefore,  to  be 
confined  to  New  York.  Clearly  then  any  minimum  wage,  based, 
as  practically  all  awards  in  this  country  have  been  thus  far,  on 


322  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

the  full  time  work  of  the  u  normal  "  season,  would  not  give  women 
a  living  wage  when  this  industry  was  slack,  and  offers  no  guaran- 
tee against  such  dull  times. 

To  examine  further  the  relation  between  rates  and  actual  earn- 
ings, and  to  determine  whether  or  not  earnings  usually  fell  below 
the  rate,  a  comparison  was  made  of  the  weekly  wage  rates  of  246 
of  the  women  paper  box  workers  in  New  York  City  with  their 
actual  average  weekly  wages  for  the  period  worked.  These  figures 
represent  conditions  far  above  the  average,  since  only  the  best 
factories  keep  their  books  so  that  reliable  figures  can  be  obtained. 
That  this  selected  group  represents  to  a  much  greater  degree  the 
more  permanent  class  of  workers  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  32 
per  cent,  were  annual  workers  as  against  15  per  cent,  of  annual 
workers  for  the  entire  labor  force.  In  addition,  to  avoid  including 
some  absences  for  personal  reasons,  when  the  average  weekly 
earnings  were  computed,  the  weeks  in  which  a  woman  was  not 
working  at  all  were  omitted,  although  the  number  of  such  ab- 
sences greatly  increases  in  the  dull  seasons  and  the  omission  there- 
fore undoubtedly  excludes  in  many  cases  a  part  of  the  wage  loss 
due  to  industrial  conditions.  For  this  particular  study  therefore 
the  steadier  workers  in  the  better  factories  are  under  consideration 
and  a  certain  amount  of  unemployment  is  being  left  out  of 
account. 

As  already  said,  comparison  was  made  of  the  rate  of  pay  and 
the  average  weekly  earnings  of  246  such  adult  women  time  work- 
ers in  the  paper  box  industry.  The  average  weekly  earnings  of 
94  per  cent,  of  these  women  were  below  their  stated  rate  of  pay. 
Only  8,  or  3%  per  cent,  had  average  weekly  earnings  equal  to 
their  rate  of  pay.  The  weekly  earnings  of  just  6,  or  2%  per  cent, 
of  the  whole  group  averaged  higher  than  their  rate  of  pay.  For 
that  great  majority  of  the  women  whose  earnings  fell  below  their 
rate,  tables  were  made  to  show  first  by  wage  groups  and  secondly 
by  length  of  time  in  the  same  factory,  what  per  cent,  of  the  rate 
they  lost.  (See  Table  2.)  According  to  the  table  we  find  that 
62.1  per  cent,  almost  two-thirds,  lost  over  10  per  cent,  of  their 
supposed  wage  during  the  time  they  worked,  with  26  per  cent, 
losing  from  16  to  25  per  cent,  and  15  per  cent,  losing  more  than 
25  per  cent. —  over  a  quarter  —  of  their  supposed  income  for  the 


Irregular  Employment  and  Hie  Living  Wage  323 


period  they  worked.     It  is  evident  that  the  lowest  paid  and  most 
shifting  workers  are  the  ones  suffering  the  heaviest  losses. 

Of  those  earning  under  $5,  77.7%  lost  over  10%  of  wages. 
Of  those  earning  $5-5.99,  63%  lost  over  10%   of  wages. 
Of  those  earning  $6-0.99,   50%  lost  over  10%  of  wages. 
Of  those  earning  $7-7.99,  50%  lost  over  10%  of  wages. 
Of  those  earning  $8-8.99,  35.8'%  lost  over  10%  of  wages. 
Of  those  earning  $9  and  over,  28.1%  lost  over  10%  of  wages. 

When  the  loss  from  the  rate  is  computed  by  length  of  service, 
the  heavier  losses  of  the  "  short-time  girl  "  are  even  more  striking. 

Of  those  staying  1-4  weeks  in  same  factory,  85.7%  lost 
over  10%  of  wages. 

Of  those  staying  5-13  weeks  in  same  factory,  64.1%  lost 
over  10%  of  wages. 

Of  those  staying  14—26  weeks  in  same  factory,  75.5%  lost 
over  10%  of  wages. 

Of  those  staying  27-47  weeks  in  same  factory,  57.2%  lost 
over  10%  of  wages. 

Of  those  staying  48—52  weeks  in  same  factory,  21%  lost 
over  10%  of  wages. 


TABLE  2 
PAPER  BOXES.     NEW  YORK  CITY.     NOVEMBER,  1912-1913 

SELECTED  FEMALE  TIME  WORKERS  OVER  16.    COMPARISON  OF  RATE  OP  PAT  AND  ACTUAL  AVERAGE 

WEEKLY  EARNINGS 
1A.  NUMBERS  LOSING  GIVEN  PERCENTAGES  OF  THEIR  RATE,  BY  WAGE  GROUPS 


RATE 

PERCENTAGE  LOST 

5  per  cent, 
or  less 

6-10 

per  cent. 

11-15 
per  cent. 

16-25 
per  cent. 

Over  25 
per  cent. 

Total 

Under  $5  00  

6 
14 
2 
3 
3 
5 

10 
25 
5 
3 
6 
9 

17 
21 
1 
3 
3 
3 

28 
24 
1 
3 
2 
1 

11 

18 
1 
0 
0 
4 

72 
102 
10 
12 
14 
22 

$5  00-  5  99  

6  00-  6  99  

7  00-  7  99 

8  00-  8  99 

9  00  and  over 

Total  

33 

58 

48 

59 

34 

232 

324 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


IB.  PER  CENT  LOSING  GIVEN  PERCENTAGES  OF  THEIR  RATE,  BY  WAGE  GROUPS 


RATE 

PERCENTAGE  LOST 

5  per  cent. 
or  less 

6-10 
per  cent. 

11-15 
per  cent. 

16-25 
per  cent. 

Over  25 
per  cent. 

Total 

Under  $5  00  

8.3 
14.0 
20.0 
25.0 
21.4 
23.8 

13.9 
23.0 
50.0 
25.0 
42.8 
38.1 

23.6 
21.6 
10.0 
25.0 
21.4 
14.3 

38.9 
24.0 
10.0 
25.0 
14.4 
4.8 

15.2 
18.0 
10.0 

19.0 

100.0 
100.0 
100.0 
100.0 
100.0 
100.0 

$5  00-  5  99  
6  00-  6  99  
7  00-  7  99  

8  00-  8  99  

9  00  and  over  

Total  .  . 

14.1 

23.8 

21.1 

26.0 

15.0 

100.0 

2A.  NUMBERS  LOSING  GIVEN  PERCENTAGES  OF  THEIR  RATE,  BY  LENGTH  OF  TIME  IN  SAME 

FACTORY 


PERCENTAGE  LOST 


FACTORY 

5  per  cent, 
or  less 

6-10 
per  cent. 

11-15 
per  cent. 

16-25 
per  cent. 

Over  25 
per  cent. 

Total 

1-  4  weeks  

4 

4 

6 

11 

19 

44 

5-13  weeks 

g 

16 

10 

23 

10 

67 

14-26  weeks  

3 

8 

15 

14 

5 

45 

27-47  weeks 

g 

g 

10 

10 

o 

37 

48-52  weeks  

10 

21 

7 

1 

0 

39 

Total  .  . 

33 

58 

48 

59 

34 

232 

2B.  PER  CENT  LOSING  GIVEN  PERCENTAGES  OF  THEIR  RATE,  BY  LENGTH  OF  TIME  IN   SAME 

FACTORY 


PERCENTAGE  LOST 


FACTORY 

5  per  cent. 
or  less 

6-10 
per  cent. 

11-15 
per  cent. 

16-26 
per  cent. 

Over  25 
per  cent. 

Total 

1-  4  weeks 

7  i 

7  1 

14  3 

26  2 

45  2 

100.0 

5-13  weeks 

11  9 

23  9 

14  9 

34  3 

14  9 

100  0 

14-26  weeks 

6  7 

17  8 

33  3 

31   1 

11   1 

100.0 

27-47  weeks        .... 

22  9 

20  0 

28  6 

28  6 

100.0 

48-52  weeks  

26.3 

52  6 

18.4 

2  6 

100.0 

Total.'. 

14.1 

23.8 

21.1 

26.0 

15.0 

100.0 

It  may  be  noted  that,  among  the  six  who  earned  more  than  their 
rate,  the  gains  were  small,  none  over  10  per  cent.,  and  that  three 
of  the  women  who  gained  were  "  annual  workers "  —  over  48 
weeks  in  the  same  position. 

We  find  in  this  selected  group,  therefore,  consisting  of  the 
better  class  workers  under  the  more  favorable  conditions,  that  94 
per  cent,  did  not  succeed  in  earning  the  rate  of  wages  at  which 
they  were  employed,  and  that  nearly  two-thirds  of  them  (62.1 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  325 

per  cent.)  lost  more  than  10  per  cent,  of  their  supposed  wages. 
Undoubtedly  if  similar  figures  could  be  computed  for  the  entire 
industry,  even  larger  losses  would  be  brought  out.  For  instance, 
for  the  week  in  which  the  Commission  collected  wage  data,  rates 
and  earnings  in  one  of  the  factories  especially  studied  were  com- 
pared with  rates  and  earnings  in  a  factory  keeping  no  records 
available  for  yearly  comparisons.  Both  factories  manufactured 
a  similar  line  of  goods,  and  the  factory  having  yearly  records 
of  earnings  was  one  in  which  about  two-fifths  of  all  the  cases 
were  found.  In  the  latter  establishment  no  woman  was  rated  at 
less  than  $5  for  the  week  but  9  per  cent,  received  less  than  that 
sum,  while  in  the  other  factory  12.7  per  cent,  were  rated  at  less 
than  $5  and  37.4  per  cent,  received  below  that  amount.  It  is  the 
latter  which  is  typical  of  the  majority  of  factories  in  the  city 
and  therefore  the  trade  as  a  whole  would  show  annual  wage- 
losses  even  greater  than  those  here  discussed. 

Moreover,  the  wage  rates  just  considered  are  averages  for  the 
period  covered.  They  in  no  way  show  the  variation  from  week 
to  week  in  a  girl's  wage.  An  average  is  only  a  composite  photo- 
graph after  all  and  may  or  may  not  represent  the  experience  of 
any  number  of  workers  and,  also  as  in  the  photograph,  the  ex- 
treme variations  are  smoothed  out.  When  we  trace  the  changes 
in  a  girl's  wages  week  by  week,  then  this  irregularity  which  we 
chart  and  discuss  like  an  academic  problem,  without  really  feel- 
ing it,  becomes  a  human  problem,  a  hard  condition  with  which 
human  beings  are  struggling.  Out  of  the  thousands  of  similar 
records,  the  New  York  State  Factory  Commission  quotes  weekly 
wages  for  six  girls,  "  steady,  representative  workers  in  different 
factories."  The  charts  (VI  and  VII)  show,  more  plainly  than 
words,  the  way  in  which  the  girls'  wages  vary  from  week  to  week. 
The  first  of  the  charts  gives  for  the  three  piece  workers,  Annie, 
Ida  and  Sarah,  their  wages  averaged  by  months.  Like  all  aver- 
ages, it  conceals  the  greatest  variations,  but  the  second  chart  gives 
their  actual  weekly  wages  for  the  third  quarter  of  the  year,  which 
is  not  the  period  of  extreme  fluctuations.  Because  piece  workers 
are  paid  in  proportion  to  their  product,  many  people  think  the 
quick,  good  worker  is  rewarded  for  her  unusual  ability.  But  what 


326 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


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Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living   Wage 


327 


CHART  VII 
PAPER   BOXES    NEW  YORK   CITY 
WEEKLY  WAGES  OF  THREE  PIECE-WORKERS 
FOR   THREE   MONTHS 

$15 
$12 
$9 
$6 
$3 

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$9 
$6 
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328  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

happens  to  her  wage  for  that  much  longer  period  when  there  is 
only  a  little  work  011  hand,  and  when,  after  a  few  hours,  she  is 
sent  home  for  the  rest  of  the  day?  These  charts,  with  their  high 
and  low  points  in  each  case  corresponding  to  the  busy  and  dull 
seasons,  show  clearly  how  the  seasonal  variations  in  the  industry 
cause  most  of  the  changes  in  these  girls'  wages.  Ida's  highest 
weekly  wage  is  $13.98  and  her  lowest  $3.20.  Annie's  varies  be- 
tween $14.87  and  $3.20,  'S'arah's  weekly  wages  run  all  the  way 
down  from  $10.62  to  $2.68.  When  we  get  down  to  the  actual 
amounts  received  by  these  piece  workers,  we  find  just  about  a  75 
per  cent,  difference  between  the  lowest  and  the  highest  wages  in- 
stead of  the  30  per  cent,  variation  which  was  found  between  the 
smallest  and  largest  total  amounts  paid  out  weekly  in  wages  and 
also  between  the  average  wage  at  different  seasons. 

Moreover,  the  wages  of  the  three  time  workers  fluctuate  nearly 
as  violently  and  correlate  in  the  same  way  with  the  slack  and 
busy  seasons.  (Chart  VIII.)  These  three  rate  workers,  Sadie 
and  Rose  and  Antoinette,  are  supposed  to  be  paid  a  definite  sum 
each  week.  But  the  least  and  greatest  wages  they  actually  receive 
are  $7.52  and  $2.41,  $8.50  and  $5.34,  $7.76  and  $2.  The  per- 
centages of  difference  between  these  sums  are  no  less  than  68,  37 
and  74  per  cent.  While  Sadie's  weekly  rate  is  $5.50  and  her 
average  weekly  wage  $5.47,  only  a  trifle  less,  Rose  never  gets 
more  than- her  rate  of  $8.50  and  falls  below  it  so  often  as  to  bring 
her  average  weekly  wage  down  to  $7.39,  only  seven-eighths  as 
great.  Antoinette  has  a  rate  of  $7,  but  an  actual  weekly  average 
of  $5.92.  She  loses  over  a  seventh  of  her  rate.  The  method  of 
payment,  it  appears,  makes  but  little  difference.  Whether  they 
are  piece  or  time  workers,  the  employees,  through  fluctuations  in 
their  wages,  bear  the  bmnt  of  seasonal  variations.  Under  these 
conditions,  the  setting  of  a  simple  minimum  wage  rate  without 
regard  to  unemployment  would  not  necessarily  produce  a  living 
wage. 

OVERTIME  EARNINGS 

It  is  sometimes  stated  that  working  girls  make  up  by  overtime 
what  they  lose  by  undertime.  The  lower  level  of  average  weekly 
earnings,  when  compared  with  rates  as  shown  on  the  previous 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  329 


CHART  VIII 
PAPER  BOXES,  NEW  YORK  CITY 
WEEKLY  WAGES  OF  THREE  TIME-WORKERS  FOR  NINETEEN  WEEKS 

% 

2           % 

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8         8          I 

330  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

pages,  is  an  indirect  refutal  of  that  often-heard  remark:  '  Well, 
after  all,  they  make  up  in  the  busy  season  what  they  lose  in  the 
dull/'  which  argument  is  sometimes  even  used  as  a  reason  for  not 
limiting  women's  hours  of  work.  But  all  the  direct  evidence  at 
hand,  as  well  as  the  indirect,  shows  this  belief  to  be  erroneous. 

It  is  unfortunately  true  that  a  good  deal  of  overtime  does  exist 
for  women  paper  box  workers.  But  in  the  first  place,  waiving 
for  the  moment  all  question  of  the  undesirability  of  overtime 
work  under  high  pressure  for  women  workers,  it  appears  that 
the  long  hours  which  bring  gains  in  wages  are  worked  by  a  minor- 
ity only.  In  a  busy  week  in  New  York  City  in  the  fall  of  K)lo, 
258  of  the  women  considered,  or  only  8  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
number,  worked  in  excess  of  the  legal  number  of  hours.  Forty- 
one,  or  only  1.2  per  cent,  worked  all  seven  days  of  the  week,  while 
a  larger  number,  861  or  19.7  per  cent,  lost  a  day  or  more.  It  is 
apparent  that  for  this  group  at  least  only  a  small  part  of  the 
workers  gained  anything  through  overtime  to  help  them  through 
the  slack  season.  While  from  the  point  of  view  of  overtime  work 
f.,  comparatively  small  number  of  workers  were  affected,  yet  it  is 
apparent  that  violations  of  the  labor  law  were  not  uncommon. 

The  proportionate  rise  and  fall  in  wages  also  must  not  be  for- 
gotten. In  the  dull  season  the  fall  is  greater  than  the  rise  in  the 
busy  season.  The  New  York  State  Factory  Investigating  Com- 
mission found  that  the  average  weekly  wage  of  nearly  two  hun- 
dred women  operatives,  questioned  as  to  seasonal  wages,  rose 
only  10  per  cent,  above  the  usual  earnings,  but  dropped  23  per 
cent,  below. 

Finally,  taking  the  entire  year  into  account,  the  slack  time  is 
spread  out  over  a  much  longer  period  than  the  rush.  The  pro- 
portions are  approximately  thirty  to  twenty  weeks.  This  is  quite 
consistent  with  the  facts  about  the  six  "  steady,  representative 
workers"  whose  wages,  week  by  week,  have  already  been  con- 
sidered. It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  in  the  busy  season  the 
time  workers  would  at  least  make  their  rate.  But  they  fell  below 
it  far  more  often  than  they  rose  above  it.  Sadie  was  7  weeks 
above  her  rate,  2  weeks  at  it  and  10  weeks  below.  Rose  re- 
ceived her  rate  only  7  times,  never  got  above  it  and  was  below  it 
29  times.  For  Antoinette  the  figures  are  5  weeks  above  her  rate. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  3'31 

2  weeks  at  the  rate  and  16  weeks  below  the  rate.  Following  the 
same  line  of  reasoning,  the  piece-workers  would  be  likely  to  go 
above  their  average  wage  in  a  busy  week.  Sarah  did  go  above  her 
average  weekly  wage  26  times  and  below  only  23  times,  but  both 
the  others  fell  below  their  average  more  often  than  they  went 
above  it.  Ida  was  23  weeks  above  and  26  weeks  below,  while 
Annie  was  24  weeks  above  and  28  weeks  below.  In  the  selected 
group  of  time-workers,  94  per  cent,  had  average  weekly  earnings 
below  their  rate,  only  2%  per  cent,  had  average  weekly  earnings 
above  their  rate  and  3%  per  cent,  made  their  scheduled  rate  of 
pay.  All  the  facts  available,  then,  agree  in  showing  that  the  idea 
of  overtime  "  making  up  "  for  undertime  is  entirely  misleading. 

SUMMARY 

Looking  back  over  the  ground  covered,  the  irregularity  in  the 
paper  box  industry,  with  the  slack  seasons  in  the  summer  and 
winter  and  busy  seasons  in  the  fall  and  spring,  may  best  be  rea- 
lized by  a  study  of  the  earnings.  In  contrast  to  the  comparatively 
small  10  per  cent,  variation  in  the  number  employed  at  different 
seasons,  we  find  a  30  per  cent,  fluctuation  in  wages,  whether  meas- 
ured by  averages  or  totals.  The  fluctuation  in  individual  cases 
rises  to  75  per  cent,  and  over.  In  addition,  wage  gains  do  not 
equal  wage  losses,  and  the  net  result  of  seasonal  irregularity  is 
a  loss  in  wages  to  the  employee.  The  record  of  the  wages  of  a 
few  individual  girls  week  by  week  shows,  just  as  an  extensive 
comparison  of  weekly  rates  with  average  weekly  earnings  shows, 
an  actual  income  approximately  15  per  cent,  below  the  rate.  The 
wage  rate  is  only  nominal,  a  term  of  little  real  meaning.  These 
workers  are  not  paid  by  the  week  but  by  the  hour  or  rather  by  the 
minute,  and  in  this  way  in  the  paper  box  industry,  a  casual, 
shifting  group  of  workers,  probably  without  half  realizing  it, 
bears  the  burden  of  seasonal  irregularity. 


THE  CONFECTIONERY  INDUSTRY 


INTRODUCTION 

From  all  statistics,  it  is  evident  that  the  American  people  are 
not  losing  their  taste  for  sweets.  The  confectionery  industry  is 
a  growing  and  prosperous  one.  At  Christmas  time,  for  instance, 
there  are  few  homes  in  which  the  festivities  are  complete  without 
some  candy,  and  Easter  time  again  swells  the  stream  of  buyers. 
While  most  people  will  recognize  the  truth  of  these  statements, 
but  few  realize  the  effect  of  our  fluctuating  desire  for  sweets, 
determining  as  it  does  the  occurrence  of  marked  busy  and  dull 
seasons  for  thousands  of  workers.  The  majority  of  these  workers 
are  women  and  children  under  sixteen,  many  of  them  employed  at 
less  than  a  living  wage.  For  this  reason,  this  industry  has  fre- 
quently been  the  subject  of  investigations  by  minimum  wage 
commissions  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 

GENERAL   STATISTICS 

According  to  the  latest  United  States  Census  of  Manufactures, 
the  average  number  of  wage  earners  employed  in  the  confection- 
ery industry  increased  from  26,000  to  44,000,  or  66  per  cent,  in 
the  ten  years  between  1899  and  1909.  Women  over  16  formed 
over  half  of  this  labor  force,  nearly  26,000  as  against  14,000  in 
1899,  an  increase  of  no  less  than  79  per  cent,  in  the  decade.  The 
number  of  men  employed  increased  but  49  per  cent,  in  the  same 
time,  and  the  number  of  children  under  16,  only  58  per  cent. 
Women  in  this  industry  are,  therefore,  not  only  in  the  majority, 
but  are  also  tending  to  displace  other  classes  of  employees.  This  is 
further  evident  from  the  fact  that,  while  in  1899  men  were  40 
r.er  cent,  and  women  53  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  of  wage 
earners,  in  1909  the  proportion  of  men  had  fallen  to  35  per 
cent.,  but  the  proportion  of  women  had  risen  to  58  per  cent.  The 
percentage  of  children  under  16,  the  larger  number  of  whom 
are  girls,  remained  about  the  same,  6  per  cent. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  333 

This  increased  proportion  of  women  is  due  in  part  to  a  more 
extensive  use  of  machines  and  a  consequent  need  for  a  larger 
number  of  unskilled  employees.  For  instance,  a  machine  which 
automatically  shapes  the  cream  centers  of  bonbons  and  chocolates 
needs  only  one  regulator  and  four  or  five  helpers  to  do  the  work 
formerly  done  by  thirty  skilled  men.  In  this  way  the  number  of 
women  increases,  for  in  the  making  of  candy  as  in  so  many  other 
industries  the  men  perform  the  more  highly  skilled  tasks  and 
the  women  the  simpler  and  more  mechanical  ones.  Men  do  all 
the  cooking  and  moulding  of  the  different  candy  mixtures; 
whereas  among  the  women  the  only  skilled  workers  are  the 
"  dippers,"  who  cover  the  centers  of  chocolates  and  bonbons.  The 
majority,  however,  are  employed  as  "wrappers"  and  "packers" 
and  as  "  helpers  "  who  fetch  and  carry  for  the  rest. 

New  York  has  the  largest  number  of  women  candy  workers, 
5,679  on  December  15,  1909,  according  to  the  Census  of  Manu- 
factures. Massachusetts  comes  second  with  4,140.  The  other 
states  employing  more  than  a  thousand  women  wage  earners  over 
sixteen  years  old  are,  in  the  order  named,  Pennsylvania,  Illinois, 
Ohio,  Missouri  and  Wisconsin.1  In  addition  to  the  more  de- 
tailed facts  for  Massachusetts  and  New  York  City,  information 
has  been  secured  from  widely  scattered  points  —  from  the  states 
of  California,  Kentucky,  Maryland,  Minnesota,  Oregon  and 
Wisconsin  and  the  cities  of  Chicago,  Pittsburgh,  and  Kansas 
City. 

-SEASONAL  VABIATIONS 

So  many  aspects  does  this  industry  present  that  it  is  even  more 
difficult  than  usual  to  measure  its  irregularity.  First,  we  find 
that  during  the  four  autumn  months  a  much  larger  force  of 
workers  is  used  than  can  find  places  for  the  rest  of  the  year. 
After  Christmas,  a  good  many  employees  are  dismissed.  At  the 

i  CONFECTIONERY  INDUSTRY 

NUMBER  OF  WOMEN  OVER  16  EMPLOYED  DECEMBER  15,  1909 
[United  States  Census  of  Manufactures,  Vol.  IX,  Table  II  for  each  State] 

New  York 5,679        Missouri 1 ,350 

Massachusetts 4,410        Wisconsin 1 ,087 

Pennsylvania 3,839        All  other  States 9,735 

Illinois 2,645  

Ohio 1,708  Total 30,453 


334  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

same  time  the  entire  factory  may  close  for  a  week  or  so,  and  in 
July  this  is  still  more  likely  to  happen.  Or  perhaps  the  factory 
runs  four  or  five  days  a  week  instead  of  the  regular  six.  Many 
factories  do  not  close  as  a  whole,  but  different  departments  may 
close  for  a  few  days  at  a  time  through  the  dull  season,  according 
to  the  work  on  hand.  Then  too,  the  regular  weekly  schedule  of 
hours  is  likely  to  be  shorter  in  the  slack  than  in  the  rush  season, 
and  often  the  actual  hours  worked  are  even  less  than  these 
scheduled  hours. 

STATISTICS  OF  IRREGULAR  EMPLOYMENT 

In  so  complicated  a  situation  many  of  the  ordinary  measures 
of  irregularity  fall  short  of  showing  the  true  state  of  affairs. 

Here  again,  according  to  the  "  days  in  operation  yearly  "  in 
Massachusetts,  candy  factories  worked  on  the  average  292  days 
out  of  a  possible  305,  in  New  Jersey,  297,  in  Pennsylvania,  300. 
From  this  one  would  think  that  a  steady  worker  need  miss  com- 
paratively little  time.  But  when  a  single  factory  is  taken,  and 
just  what  the  steady  workers  lose  in  the  way  of  short  time  is 
shown,  the  inadequacy  of  these  figures  becomes  clear.  This  may 
be  illustrated  by  the  detailed  report  of  short  time  in  one  factory 
cited  as  typical  by  the  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Minimum 
Wage  Boards.  This  establishment  was  shut  down  for  two  weeks 
in  July  and  also  on  two  separate  occasions  in  May  and  two  in 
June,  losing  five  and  a  half  days  in  this  way.  Thus  during  the 
year  there  would  be  a  loss  of  17%  working  days,  or  according  to 
the  statistics  of  "  days  in  operation  yearly"  287%  days  would  be 
worked.  But  in  addition  no  less  than  twenty-four  times  during 
the  dull  half  of  the  year,  that  is,  between  January  and  July,, 
from  one  to  twenty-one  departments  were  closed  for  from  one  to 
three  days  at  a  time,  as  work  fluctuated.  The  least  number  of 
days  lost  in  this  way  was  five  and  a  half  in  three  different  depart- 
ments ;  the  greatest  number  28%  days  in  one  department ;  the 
other  losses  ranged  between  these  two  amounts.  The  tables  fol- 
lowing give  this  loss  of  days  by  dates  and  departments.  The  en- 
tirely irregular  way  in  which  the  days  of  unemployment  oc- 
curred made  it  absolutely  impossible  for  employees  to  make  up 
the  time  and  earnings  thus  lost  by  turning  to  other  work-  Since 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living   Wage 


some  parts  of  the  factor}'  were  running  at  each  of  these  times,, 
none  of  this  considerable  loss  is  disclosed  under  the  statistics  of 
"  days  in  operation  yearly/'  which  are  thus  entirely  inadequate 
as  a  measure  of  the  extent  of  irregularity. 

TABLE  3 
CONFECTIONERY  —  MASSACHUSETTS,  1911 

IRREGULARITY  OF  EMPLOYMENT  IN  A  MASSACHUSETTS  CANDY  FACTORY,  1911 

A.  DATES,  NUMBERS  OF  DAYS  AND  NUMBER  OF  DEPARTMENTS  CLOSED,  IN  ADDITION  TO  A  Sstvt- 

DOWN  OF  Two  WEEKS  IN  JULY.     (TOTAL  NUMBER  OF  DEPARTMENTS,  26) 

(From  report  of  the  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage  Boards,  pages  64  and  65) 


DATE 

Number 
days 
closed 

Number 
depart- 
ments 
closed 

DATE 

Number 
days 
closed 

Number  departments 
dosed 

January      7.  ... 

1 

5 

April  22 

3 

14 

14  

1 

2 

29 

1 

12 

February  11  

2 

2 

May    6 

2 

18 

18  

2 

2 

13 

2 

All  employing  women,- 

25  

1 

1 

20 

2 

11 

March       15  

1 

1 

27  

14 

All  employing  women.- 

18.... 

2 

2 

June    3  

All  employing  women. 

25  

2 

4 

4  

3 

April            1.... 
8.... 
15.... 

2 
24 
3  and  2 

14 
6 
21 

10  
11  
17  

8 
2 
5 

25  

All  employing  women. 

B.  NUMBER  OF  DAYS  EACH  DEPARTMENT  WAS  CLOSED 


Department 
No. 

Work- 
ing days 
closed 

Department 
No. 

Work- 
ing days 
closed 

Department 
No. 

Work- 

"S±r 

1.  ... 

9 

10 

24 

19 

74, 

2  

14 

11 

19 

20 

15 

3  

23 

12 

16 

21 

74 

4  

19 

13 

284 

22 

19 

5  

54 

14 

54 

23 

154 

6 

6 

15 

204 

24 

15 

7  

8} 

16 

184. 

25           ... 

13 

8  

19 

17 

184 

26 

54 

9.  . 

13 

18... 

15 

Besides  "  da.ys  in  operation  yearly  "  the  other  common  method 
of  measuring  seasonal  irregularity  is  that  of  giving  the  "  average 
number  employed  by  months."  "We  have  these  figures  for  the 
women  workers  in  Massachusetts,  1912,  New  Jersey,  1912  and 
Wisconsin,  19O9',  and  for  all  workers  in  New  York  City,  and  up- 
state, September,  1912-September,  1913.  (See  charts  IX  and 
X.)  This  Inst  set  of  figures  comes  from  the  New  York  Com- 
mission; the.  others  from  state,  labor  reports.  In  every  case 


336  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


100% 
90% 

CHART  IX 
CONFECTIONERY 

AVERAGE   NUMBER   EMPLOYED   BY  MONTHS 

(MAXIMUM  =  100%>- 

100% 

•MS 
FEHA 

LESO\ 

N  1909 

ERI6 

7. 

80% 

7  OX 
100%" 

90% 
80X 

c/ 

90% 

, 

/- 

O  . 

o  

—^ 

-v 

^ 

~T 

80% 

70% 

HAS 
ALL  F 

SACH 
•MALE 

LJSET 
1 

TS131 

/ 

T 

"  \ 

\ 

100% 
90% 

0  

~x 

f 

SOX 

70% 
100% 

90% 
80X 
70% 
60% 

70% 

/ 

%^ 

— 

'-**< 

V 

100% 
90% 

NEWJ 
FEHAL 

ERSE 
ESOVE 

ri9i2 

R16 

/ 

A 

80% 

/ 

\ 

70% 

/ 

60%J 

y 

/ 

50% 

•--. 

^> 

•**" 

o  

o  

50% 

JAN.           FEB.        MARCH       APRIL           MAY           JUNE          JULY           AUG.         SEPT.          OCT.          NOV.            DEC. 

Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  337 


A> 

ieoc/; 

907 
80X 

CHART  X 
CONFECTIONERY,  NEW  YORK,  SEPTEMBER 
1912  -SEPTEMBER  1913 

/ERAGE   NUMBER   EMPLOYED   AND  TOTAL  AMOU 
WAGES   BY    MONTHS.      MALE  AND   FEMALE 

(MAXIMUM  =  10O%I 

NT 

100% 
9054 

NEW 

YORKC 

;ITY 

/ 

/I 

^\ 

\ 

^ 

.„ 

g 

J 

/" 

-^* 

80% 

"' 

^ 

•^ 

^ 

70% 

60% 

60% 

UPS 

FATE 

100% 
90% 

2 

f 

/l\ 

\ 

90% 

80% 

1 

/ 

& 

80% 

*-4 

/ 
/ 

-^ 

.^' 

^ 

^ 

^- 

60% 

* 

60% 

338 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


the  year  is  the  latest  for  which  the  figures  are  compiled.  The 
percentage  of  difference  between  the  largest  and  smallest  number 
employed  is  nearly  45  per  cent,  in  New  Jersey,  and  about  25  per 
cent,  in  the  three  other  states.  This  latter  figure  corresponds 
closely  to  the  per  cent,  of  difference  in  numbers  employed  in 
quite  a  different  locality,  Kansas  City,  where  a  maximum  of  900 
and  minimum  of  670  were  found,  a  difference  of  just  about  25 
per  cent. 

The  statistics  of  "  average  number  employed  by  months " 
show,  then,  that  a  considerable  part  of  the  employees  cannot  find 
work  in  the  industry  during  the  entire  year.  Being  totals  for  a 
large  number  of  factories  they  do  not,  however,  bring  out  the 
real  extent  of  the  fluctuations  in  certain  establishments.  Some 
factories  hold  their  employees  during  the  year  much  more 
steadily  than  others,  as  is  disclosed  by  a  table  of  the  monthly 
fluctuations  of  numbers  for  the  twelve  largest  factories  in  Massa- 
chusetts. In  the  factory  least  affected  by  seasonal  differences,  the 
smallest  number  employed  in  any  month  is  70  per  cent,  of  the 
largest  number,  but  in  the  factory  most  affected,  the  smallest 
number  is  only  22.7  per  cent,  of  the  largest  number. 

TABLE  4 
CONFECTIONERY— MASSACHUSETTS,  1911 

MONTHS  WHEN  MINIMUM  AND  MAXIMUM  NUMBERS  ARE  EMPLOYED,  AND  SMALLEST  PER  CENT. 

OF  MAXIMUM  EMPLOYED  IN  THE  TWELVE  LARGEST  CANDY  FACTORIES  IN  MASSACHUSETTS 
(Adapted  from  the  Report  of  the  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage  Boards,  p.  67) 


FACTORY  No. 

Month  when 
largest  number 
were  employed 

Month  when 
smallest  number 
were  employed 

Per  cent, 
smallest 
number  is 
of  largest 
number 
employed 

1 

Oct 

July 

22  7 

2                                 .              .... 

Sept  ,  Oct.,  Nov.,  Dec 

June'  July,  Aug 

70  0 

3                    

Sept. 

Nov. 

67  7 

4            

Nov. 

Jan. 

55  7 

5    

Nov. 

Jan. 

55  2 

6 

Nov  ,  Dec 

Jan 

56  8 

7 

Sept. 

Feb 

60  1 

8                                 ... 

July 

Oct 

80  3 

9            

May 

March 

73  8 

10    

Oct. 

July 

43  3 

11  

Sept. 

April 

73.9 

12 

Oct 

52  0 

However,  even  though  a  woman  can  find  a  place  on  the  pay- 
roll of  some  factory  throughout  the  year,  this  does  not  mean  that 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  339 


she  does  not  lose  time  and  money  through  slack  work.  As  shown 
in  the  description  of  the  irregularity  of  a  typical  Massachusetts 
factory,  besides  a  probable  closing  of  the  factory  for  a  week  or 
two,  the  day  lost  here  and  there  and  the  shorter  daily  working 
time  —  all  decrease  the  hours  she  works  and  consequently  her 
pay.  Almost  all  steady  workers  do  suffer  from  such  losses.  In 
Massachusetts,  nearly  500  steady  workers  who  remained  in  the 
same  factory  throughout  the  year,  were  questioned  as  to  time  lost. 
Ninety-five  per  cent,  of  them  lost  time  from  industrial  causes 
during  the  year,  missing  an  average  of  20  entire  working 
days  or  over  3  weeks  —  nearly  7  per  cent,  of  their  whole 
period  of  employment.  The  table  following  shows  that  the  larg- 
est group  lost  between  25  and  30  entire  days.  Industrial  condi- 
tions were  reported  responsible  for  three-quarters  of  all  the  time 
lost.  Since  wages  always  decrease  with  time  lost,  in  this  way 
alone,  through  the  loss  of  entire  days,  the  usual  minimum  wage 
rate  would  fail  to  provide  these  steady  workers  with  a  living 
wage  by  about  7  per  cent.  Moreover,  this  does  not  include  the 
further  extensive  loss  from  short  hours  on  days  when  but  little 
work  is  done.  The  "  average  number  employed  by  months  "  in- 
dicates, therefore,  the  extent  to  which  workers  cannot  find  a  place 
in  the  industry  for  the  entire  year,  .but  conceals  differences  be- 
tween establishments  and  tells  nothing  as  to  the  effect  of  seasonal 
irregularity  on  those  workers  who  keep  their  places  throughout 
the  year. 

TABLE  5 
CONFECTIONERY  —  MASSACHUSETTS,  191 1 


NUMBER  OF  ENTIRE  DAYS  LOST  BY 


STEADY  "  WOMEN  WORKERS  THROUGH  INDUSTRIAL 
CONDITIONS 


(Adapted  from  Report  of  the  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage  Boards,  pp.  263-267) 


NUMBER  WORK- 
ING DAYS  LOST 

1-6 

7-12 

13-18 

19-24 

25-30 

31-36 

37-42 

43-48 

49-54 

55-60 

61-90 

1-90 

0 
23 

Number  losing  .  . 

50 

56 

67 

84 

122 

49 

15 

6 

5 

1 

1 

456 

SHIFTING 

In  J^ew  York  City,  in  the  year  studied  by  the  Factory  Investi- 
gating Commission,  September  1912  to  September  1913,  45  per 
cent,  of  the  women  stayed  four  weeks  or  less  in  the  same  place 
and  a  total  of  66  per  cent,  less  than  three  months;  13  per  cent. 


340  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

remained  from  three  to  six  months  and  8.3  per  cent,  over  six 
months  and  less  than  eleven  months.  Only  12  per  cent,  held  their 
places  over  eleven  months.  (See  Chart  XL)  In  Massachusetts 
in  1913-14,  the  Minimum  Wage  Commission  found  the  number 
of  months  during  which  over  3,000  women  in  the  fourteen  largest 
factories  had  remained  in  the  same  establishment.  All  those 
leaving  in  less  than  four  weeks  were  excluded  and,  considering 
the  large  numbers  who  leave  after  a  few  days'  work,  the  showing 
is,  in  this  way,  made  much  more  favorable.  Even  so,  36.9  per 
cent,  stayed  less  than  three  months  and  only  21.8  per  cent,  more 
than  eleven  months.  Twenty-three  and  a  half  per  cent,  re- 
mained three  to  six  months  and  17.8  per  cent,  from  six  to  eleven 
months.  An  almost  negligible  percentage  of  the  entire  numbei 
found  employment  for  the  entire  twelve  months. 

There  were,  however,  great  differences  between  the  different 
factories  in  respect  to  the  steadiness  of  their  employees.  One 
establishment  held  16  per  cent,  of  its  workers  for  the  whole  twelve 
months,  whereas  four  kept  no  workers  at  all  throughout  the  entire 
year.  Those  finding  work  for  eleven  months  varied  from  12  per 
cent,  to  over  70  per  cent.  By  occupations  the  differences  were  not 
so  marked.  The  skilled  dippers  were  most  permanent  in  tenure, 
as  might  be  expected,  and  the  absolutely  unskilled  floor-girls  the 
least,  but  in  general  the  different  occupations  ran  pretty  closely 
together. 

Like  evidence,  though  from  a  slightly  different  point  of  view, 
comes  from  the  results  of  a  federal  investigation  made  in  1911 
in  the  two  widely  separated  states  of  Maryland  and  California, 
The  average  number  of  weeks'  employment  yearly  for  all  women 
candy  workers  was  thirty-nine  in  the  one  state  and  forty-five  in 
the  other.  Allowing  for  the  fact  that  some  of  these  workers  must 
have  been  steady  throughout  the  year,  many  others  must  have 
been  able  to  find  work  for  very  short  periods  only. 

Those  who  are  dismissed  on  account  of  the  slack  season  must 
find  it  especially  difficult  to  obtain  other  work,  since  they  lose 
their  places  after  Christmas  and  in  the  summer,  when  most  other 
women's  trades  are  dull.  And  in  Massachusetts,  in  1911,  out 
of  about  850  such  changes  from  factory  to  factory,  22  per  cent, 
were  said  by  the  women  changing  to  have  been  made  on  account 
of  slack  work. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  341 


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342  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

VARIATION  IN  EARNINGS 

The  effect  of  irregular  employment  upon  income  remains  to  be 
considered.  How  much  do  steady  workers  lose  on  account  of  dull 
seasons  ?  Do  short  period  workers  also  lose  ?  Do  time-workers 
succeed  in  making  their  nominal  rate  of  pay  ?  In  comparing  the 
fluctuations  in  the  total  amount  of  wages  paid  out  in  New  York 
City,  1912-13,  the  percentage  of  difference  between  the  largest 
and  smallest  amounts  by  months  is  but  slightly  larger  than  the 
monthly  percentage  of  difference  in  numbers,  25  per  cent,  for 
wages  and  23  per  cent,  for  numbers.  But  when  we  examine  the 
total  sums  paid  out  each  week,  we  find  a  difference  of  over  35  per 
cent,  between  maximum  and  minimum,  a  variation  considerably 
greater  than  the  25  per  cent,  difference  in  numbers  employed  by 
weeks.  Slack  work  must  account  for  the  periods  when  the  wage 
line  dips  far  below  the  line  for  numbers.  (See  Chart  X.) 

In  Massachusetts,  the  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage  Boards 
made  a  study  of  losses  in  earnings  among  "  steady "  workers. 
The  average  weekly  earnings  of  469  women  who  remained  with 
the  same  firm  the  entire  year  were  found  to  be  $5.33.  The  average 
weekly  earnings  for  those  weeks  in  which  they  worked  was  $5.97. 
Thus  allowance  was  made  for  all  absences  for  an  entire  week, 
though  not  for  losses  from  short  time  within  a  week.  But  even 
this  average  weekly  loss  of  64  cents,  excluding  as  it  did  part  of 
the  loss  from  seasonal  irregularity,  was  more  than  10  per  cent, 
of  the  average  weekly  income.  This  loss  was  produced  "  largely 
by  industrial  causes  "  says  the  Commission. 

Most  of  the  women  employees  in  candy  factories  are  time 
workers.  This  does  not  mean,  however,  that  such  workers  who 
keep  their  places  during  the  slack  season  really  make  their  nominal 
weekly  rate  during  that  time.  To  illustrate  this  point  the  Massa- 
chusetts Minimum  Wage  Board  selected  a  single  wage  sheet  from 
one  pay  roll.  It  was  a  "  typical  sheet "  selected  at  random  and 
contained  the  names  of  forty-three  time  workers,  at  work  for  the 
factory  an  average  of  forty  weeks  during  the  year.  That  is,  they 
were  comparatively  steady  workers.  On  the  average,  they  re- 
ceived their  scheduled  rate  just  a  quarter  of  the  time  or  ten  weeks 
out  of  the  forty.  Their  average  exceeded  the  rate  nine  times  and 
fell  below  it  twenty-^one  times.  Not  one  received  her  rate  for 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  343 

half  the  time  she  worked,  or  earned  more  than  her  rate  as  often  as 
she  earned  less.  In  every  case  the  actual  average  earnings  of 
these  women  if  computed  would  have  fallen  below  their  rate.  Both 
the  report  of  the  Massachusetts  Minimum  Wage  Commission  and 
the  New  York  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission  compare 
rates  and  earnings  for  women  in  the  confectionery  industry  in 
1913,  and  both  show  earnings  falling  below  the  rates,  though  the 
New  York  report  took  a  week  in  the  "  normal "  or  busier  season 
and  the  Massachusetts  report  considered  average  weekly  earnings 
for  the  year.  In  New  York  City  in  the  selected  week  only  19 
per  cent,  of  the  women  were  working  at  a  rate  of  under  $5,  but 
30  per  cent,  actually  took  home  such  amounts  in  their  pay  en- 
velopes. In  Massachusetts  for  the  whole  year  26  per  cent,  were 
rated  under  $5,  but  49  per  cent,  actually  earned  such  a  sum.  (See 
Chart  XII.) 

A  comparison  between  the  possible  hours  based  on  full  running 
time,  and  the  hours  actually  worked  by  1,115  female  time-workers 
in  three  Massachusetts  candy-factories  during  1913,  illustrates  the 
conditions  probably  responsible  for  this  discrepancy.  (See  Chart 
XIII.)  In  the  first  place  the  running  time  of  the  factories  varies 
considerably  from  season  to  season,  falling  off  in  the  summer  and 
rising  high  before  Christmas  as  the  solid  line  shows.  There  are 
two  different  reasons  for  this  variation ;  both  illustrative  of  differ- 
ent phases  of  industrial  irregularity.  The  one  is  the  great  in- 
crease in  the  number  employed  during  the  busy  season ;  the  other, 
the  lengthening  of  the  running  time  ten  or  fifteen  per  cent,  at  the 
same  period.  But  in  only  two  or  three  weeks  during  the  busy 
season  when  overtime  is  undoubtedly  worked,  do  the  hours  of 
actual  work  (represented  by  the  broken  line),  exceed  or  even  so 
much  as  equal  this  changing  running  time.  For  all  the  rest  of 
the  year  hours  worked  fall  decidedly  below  possible  hours.  Such 
a  difference  between  actual  and  possible  hours  of  work  is  found 
among  all  classes  of  employees,  the  skilled  dippers  and  "  fancy 
packers  "  as  well  as  among  the  unskilled  "  plain  packers."  (See 
Chart  XIV.)  It  is  true  that  a  better  organization  of  the  industry 
would  require  a  somewhat  smaller  labor-force  and  a  few  women 
would  thus  be  thrown  entirely  out  of  work  if  actual  hours  more 
nearly  equalled  possible  hours.  On  the  other  hand  full  time 


344  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


CHART  XII 

CONFECTIONERY     PER   CENT  OF  -WOMEN 

AT  SPECIFIED  AMOUNTS 

40k 

40% 

MASS 

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Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living   \\'aye 


345 


CONFECTIONERY,  MASSACHUSETTS  1913 
FULL  RUNNING  TIME  AND  NUMBER  OF 
HOURS  ACTUALLY  WORKED  BY  1115  WOMEN 
IN  THREE  FACTORIES 

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Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  TToge  347 

employment  would  be  given  to  the  majority  of  the  workers, 
which  would  seem  to  be  the  more  desirable  policy  from  all  points 
of  view,  for  it  is  better  for  a  few  to  be  forced  to  look  for  other 
employment,  rather  than  to  allow  the  whole  force  to  drag  on  un- 
der-employed and  with  reduced  earnings.  The  existing  situation 
makes  it  evident  that  rates  or  running  time  can  not  at  present  be 
considered  a  reliable  index  to  actual  earnings. 

A  special  study  of  rates  and  earnings  was  made  which  included 
every  New  York  City  candy  factory  which  kept  records  of  the 
weekly  rate  of  wages  and  actual  weekly  earnings  of  their  women 
workers.  The  rate-workers  selected  in  this  way  were  far  above 
the  average,  and  included  only  the  best  factories,  the  steadier 
workers,  and  in  addition  excluded  a  certain  amount  of  unemploy- 
ment. (See  "Paper  Box  Industry,"  p.  536.)  Yet  in  almost 
every  case  earnings  were  found  to  be  below  the  scheduled  rate. 

This  group  consisted  of  1,063  time  workers,  the  earnings  of 
953  or  89.7  per  cent,  of  this  number  fell  below  their  rate  of  wages, 
while  for  only  18  were  earnings  and  rates  equal,  and  92  received 
earnings  higher  than  their  rate  of  wages.  Sixty-three  and  four 
tenths  per  cent,  of  the  953  women  who  suffered  a  loss  in  earnings, 
lost  more  than  10  per  cent,  of  their  rate;  18.8  per  cent,  lost  from 
11  per  cent,  to  15  per  cent. ;  25.3  per  cent,  lost  from  16  per  cent, 
to  25  per  cent.;  and  19.3  per  cent.,  nearly  a  fifth,  lost  over  a 
quarter  of  their  supposed  income.  There  are  only  slight  differ- 
ences in  the  severity  of  the  losses  suffered  by  the  high  and  by  the 
low  paid  workers. 

Of  those  earning  under  $5,  72.1%  lost  over  10%  of  wages. 

Of  those  earning  $5-$5.99,  62.3%  lost  over  10%  of  wages. 

Of  those  earning  $6-$6.99,  59.5%  lost  over  10%  of  wages. 

Of  those  earning  $7-$7.99,  57.4%  lost  over  10%  of  wages. 

Of  those  earning  $8-$8.99,  57.4%  lost  over  10%  of  wages. 

Of  those  earning  $9  and  over,  66.3%  lost  over  10%  of  wages. 

But  many  of  the  women  who  stayed  only  a  short  time  in  the 
same  factory  lost  more  heavily  than  did  the  more  permanent 
workers. 

Of  those  staying  1-4  weeks  in  same  factory,  84.1%  lost 
over  10%  of  wages. 


348 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


Of  those  staying  5-13  weeks  in  same  factory,  71.2%  lost 
over  10%  of  wages. 

Of  those  staying  14—26  weeks  in  same  factory,  48.2%  lost 
over  10%  of  wages. 

Of  those  staying  27-47  weeks  in  same  factory,  61.2%  lost 
over  10%  of  wages. 

Of  those  staying  48-52  weeks  in  same  factory,  44.7%  lost 
over  10%  of  wages. 

TABLE  6 
CONFECTIONERY  —  NEW  YORK  CITY,  SEPTEMBER,   1912-1913 

SELECTED  FEMALE   TIME   WORKERS   OVER    16.     COMPARISON    OP   RATE    OF   PAY   AND    ACTUAL 

AVERAGE  WEEKLY  EARNINGS 
1A.     NUMBER  LOSING  GIVEN  PERCENTAGE  OF  THEIR  RATE,  BY  WAGE  GROUPS 


PERCENT.* 

GE   LOST 

5  per  cent, 
or  less 

6-10 
per  cent. 

11-15 
per  cent. 

16-25 
per  cent. 

Over  25 
per  cent. 

Total 

Under  $5  00 

22 

31 

35 

48 

54 

190 

$5  00-  5  99 

59 

65 

58 

74 

59 

305 

6  00-  6  99 

42 

58 

44 

56 

47 

247 

7  00-  7  99 

21 

16 

17 

26 

9 

89 

g  00-  8  99 

11 

8 

6 

16 

4 

45 

9  00  and  over 

16 

10 

19 

21 

11 

77 

Total  

161 

188 

179 

241 

184 

953 

IB.  PER  CENT.  LOSING  GIVEN  PERCENTAGES  OF  THEIR  RATE,  BY  WAGE  GROUPS. 


PERCENTAGE    LOST 


KATE 

5  per  cent, 
or  less 

6-10 
per  cent. 

11-15 
per  cent. 

16-25 
per  cent. 

Over  25 
per  cent. 

Total 

Under  $5  00 

11  6 

16  3 

18  4 

25.3 

28.4 

100  0 

$5  00-  5  99  

16.1 

21.3 

19.0 

24.2 

19.1 

100.0 

6  00-  6  99 

17.0 

23.5 

17.9 

22.6 

19.0 

100.0 

7  00-  7  99 

23.5 

17.9 

18.1 

29.2 

10.1 

100.0 

8  00-  8  99           

24.4 

17.8 

13.3 

35.5 

8.9 

100.0 

9  00  and  over  

20.8 

12.9 

24.7 

27.3 

14.3 

100.0 

Total... 

16.9 

19.7 

18.8 

25.3 

19.3 

100.0 

Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  349 


2A.  NUMBERS  LOSING  GIVEN  PERCENTAGES  OF  THEIR  RATE,  BY  LENGTH  OF  TIME  IN  SAME 

FA  CTORY 


LENGTH  OF  TIME  IN 
SAME  FACTORY 

PERCENTAGE    LOST 

5  per  cent, 
or  less 

6-10 
per  cent. 

11-15 

per  cent. 

16-25 
per  cent. 

Over  25 
per  cent. 

Total 

1-  4  weeks       

15 
31 
25 
19 
71 

20 
35 
35 
36 
62 

21 
48 
14 
41 
55 

44 
74 
36 
37 
50 

121 
45 
6 
9 
3 

221 
233 

116 
142 
241 

5-13  weeks   

14-26  weeks  

27-47  weeks  

48-52  weeks 

Total.., 

161 

188 

179 

241 

184 

953 

2B.  PER  CENT.  LOSING  GIVEN  PERCENTAGES  OF  THEIR  RATE,  BY  LENGTH  OF  TIME  IN  SAME 

FACTORY 


LENGTH  OF  TIME  IN 


PERCENTAGE    LOST 


SAME  FACTORY 

5  per  cent, 
or  less 

6-10 
per  cent. 

11-15 
per  cent. 

16-25 
per  cent. 

Over  25 
per  cent. 

Total 

1—  4  weeks  

6.7 

9.0 

9.5 

19.9 

54.7 

100.0 

5-13  weeks  

13.3 

15.0 

20.6 

31.3 

19.3 

100.0 

14-26  weeks 

21  5 

30  2 

12  0 

31  0 

5  2 

100.0 

27-47  weeks 

13  4 

25.3 

28  9 

26  0 

6.3 

100.0 

48-52  weeks 

29  4 

25.7 

22.8 

20  7 

1.2 

100.0 

Total.. 

16.9 

19.7 

18.8 

25.3 

19.3 

100.0 

Only  12  of  the  92  women  whose  average  weekly  earnings  ex- 
ceeded their  rate,  gained  more  than  10  per  cent.  Fifty-three  or 
over  half  gained  5  per  cent,  or  less,  and  27  gained  between  5  per 
cent,  and  10  per  cent.  'Not  only  did  far  fewer  women  gain  than 
lose,  but  the  gains  were  not  so  great  as  the  losses.  The  gains  fell 
with  about  equal  frequency  among  the  different  wage  groups,  but 
the  short  period  workers  were  the  group  more  often  found  to  gain, 
probably  because  more  of  them  are  at  work  only  through  the 
busy  season. 

We  find  therefore  these  steadier  workers  in  the  better  factories 
suffering  at  the  most  conservative  estimate  losses  which  average 
15  per  cent,  from  their  nominal  rate  of  pay.  Undoubtedly  the  loss 
of  other  women  in  the  trade  would  be  much  greater.  Unless 
the  seasonal  irregularity  of  the  industry  were  overcome,  or  wage- 


350 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


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Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  351 


CHART  XVI 

CONFECTIONERY     NEW  YORK  CITY, 
WEEKLY  WAGES  OF  THREE  PIECE-WORKERS 
FOR  THREE  MONTHS 


$15- 


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352  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

losses  from  irregular  work  are  compensated  in  some  way,  there- 
fore, how  can  we  but  question  the  effectiveness  of  insuring  the 
women  in  it  a  living  income  by  the  usual  minimum  wage  rate  ? 

But  in  any  average  or  aggregate  extreme  differences  are 
smoothed  down  and  the  greater  fluctuations  disappear.  If  we 
want  to  realize  the  human  side  of  the  problem,  how  individual 
girls  are  affected  by  these  wage  differences,  we  must  select  indi- 
vidual workers  and  find  out  what  they  get  week  by  week.  As 
was  done  in  the  section  on  the  Paper  Box  Industry,  six  workers 
were  chosen,  three  piece  workers  and  three  time  workers.  They 
were  "  steady  representative  workers,"  each  employed  nearly  the 
whole  year  in  different  factories.  The  three  piece  workers,  Mary 
and  Nancy  and  Mamie  had  an  average  weekly  wage  of  $7.10, 
$5.69,  and  $9.35,  respectively.  These  averages  conceal  great 
differences  from  week  to  week  as  the  'Charts  (XV  and  XVI)  show. 
The  first  chart  represents  each  girl's  weekly  wages  averaged  by 
months ;  the  second,  her  wages  week  by  week  for  the  third  quarter 
of  the  year  (which  is  not  highly  irregular)  in  order  to  show  the 
fluctuations  concealed  by  a  monthly  average.  Mary  received  as 
little  as  $4.20  one  week  and  as  much  as  $10.01  another.  Nancy 
received  only  fifty  cents  one  week.  The  next  week  she  did  not 
work  at  all.  However,  excluding  this  as  possibly  caused  by  per- 
sonal reasons,  another  week  she  made  $2.91,  while  her  best  week 
she  received  $8.79.  Mamie's  weekly  wage  varied  between  $3.27 
and  $14.37.  Instead  of  the  average  35  per  cent,  difference,  we 
have  58  per  cent.,  66  per  cent,  and  72  per  cent,  as  the  difference 
between  the  largest  and  smallest  weekly  wages  of  these  steady 
workers.  The  surprising  fact  to  those  unfamiliar  with  present 
day  factory  work,  is  that  nearly  as  great  a  variation  occurs  in  the 
wages  of  the  three  time  workers  as  among  the  piece  workers 
(see  Chart  XVII).  Teresa  is  supposed  to  be  paid  $5.62  every 
week  in  the  year.  In  reality,  her  highest  weekly  wage  is  $8.90 
and  her  lowest  $2.44,  a  difference  of  72  per  cent.  Rose's  rate  is 
$7.  She  never  gets  more  than  this,  but  for  two  or  three  weeks, 
her  actual  wage  falls  as  low  as  $4.67,  just  about  a  third  below  her 
rate.  Anna  with  a  rate  of  $6.50,  gets  a  minimum  of  $3.79  and  a 
maximum  of  $8.45,  more  than  twice  as  much.  Not  one  of  the 
three  "  makes  up  in  the  busy  season  what  she  loses  in  the  dull " 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  353 


CHART  XVII 

CONFECTIONERY  NEW  YORK  CITY 
WEEKLY  WAGES  OF  THREE  TIME-WORKERS 

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354  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

as  we  are  often  told  most  workers  do,  for  in  each  case  the  average 
weekly  wage  falls  below  the  rate.  Teresa  drops  below  her  rate 
an  average  of  24  cents  weekly,  Rose  58  cents,  and  Anna  63  cents. 
The  average  percentages  lost  weekly  are  4  per  cent.,  8  per  cent, 
and  9  per  cent.  Similar  conditions  among  individual  workers 
were  found  by  the  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage 
Boards.  They  considered  the  case  of  "  Bridget  G  "  typical.  She 
was  2'6  years  old  and  had  wrapped  candy  for  one  firm  nearly  seven 
years.  Her  weekly  rate  was  $6,  but  in  1911  industrial  lay-offs 
brought  her  average  weekly  wage  down  to  only  $4.97,  a  loss  from 
her  meager  full  time  earnings  of  17  per  cent. 

OVERTIME  EARNINGS 

It  is  already  evident  from  the  constant  deficit  in  earnings  when 
compared  with  rates  that  the  steady  worker  does  not  find  her 
"  gains  from  overtime "  equalling  her  losses  from  undertime. 
There  are  two  reasons  for  this.  The  first  is  simply  that  the  dull 
season  is  longer  than  the  busy  one.  A  glance  at  the  charts  show- 
ing monthly  changes  in  numbers  and  wages  will  confirm  this. 
Roughly  from  these  charts,  the  proportions  of  slack  and  rush 
work  are  33  weeks  to  17  weeks.  Then  also  rate-workers  always 
fall  below  their  rate  many  more  weeks  than  they  climb  above  it. 
For  instance,  Teresa,  one  of  those  "  representative  workers "  in 
New  York  City  was  36  weeks  below  her  rate  and  only  14  weeks 
above  it.  In  the  second  place,  not  all  employees  work  overtime; 
in  California  in  1911,  a  quarter  of  the  candy  workers  did  not 
and  in  Maryland  in  the  same  year  a  fifth  did  not.  All  facts 
point  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  not  so  easy  to  "  gain  from  over- 
time and  make  up  for  the  slack  season/'  even  if  the  necessary  long 
hours  were  thought  desirable. 

SUMMARY 

Busy  and  dull  seasons  alternate  in  candy  factories  in  the  same 
way  that  they  do  in  paper  box  factories.  The  industry  is  busiest 
in  the  fall,  active  before  Easter  and  slack  after  Christmas  and  in 
the  summer.  On  account  of  these  seasonal  variations,  at  least  25 
per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  of  women  employed  can  find 
places  in  the  trade  only  during  the  four  fall  months.  Part  of 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  355 

the  great  flux  of  workers  in  the  industry,  therefore,  is  not  the 
fault  of  the  workers  themselves  The  steady  workers  also  lose  in 
time  and  consequently  in  wages  during  the  dull  season,  both 
through  shorter  hours  and  through  the  occasional  closing  of  a  de- 
partment or  the  whole  factory  for  a  few  days.  These  losses  in 
wages  can  he  brought  out  in  several  different  ways.  There  is  a 
35  per  cent,  variation  in  wages  week  by  week  in  New  York  in  con- 
trast to  a  25  per  cent,  fluctuation  in  numbers.  In  individual  cases 
the  difference  rises  as  high  as  75  per  cent.  These  fluctuations 
result  in  wage  losses.  A  comparison  between  the  average  weekly 
rate  and  earnings  of  over  a  thousand  rate  workers  in  New  York 
City  show  that  89  per  cent,  of  them  did  not  make  their  rate  and 
that  their  average  loss  was  about  15  per  cent.  The  same  state  of 
affairs  was  found  to  exist  among  "  annual "  workers  and  among 
women  employed  for  shorter  periods  in  Massachusetts. 

The  Minimum  Wage  Commission  of  that  State  has  described 
a  typical  worker  as  "  less  than  25  years  old,  earns  less  than  $6  a 
week ;  works  on  an  average  less  than  46  hours  weekly,  and  is  out 
of  work  twenty  or  more  weeks  during  the  year." 

We  can  come  therefore  to  but  one  conclusion  about  a  minimum 
wage  in  the  confectionery  industry.  In  view  of  the  seasonal 
nature  of  the  industry,  a  minimum  flat  rate  without  regard  to 
the  amount  of  employment  will  never  give  the  girl  in  the  candy 
factory  a  living  wage.  Yet  large  numbers  of  them  look  to  this 
industry  alone  for  their  support.  The  Massachusetts  Commis- 
sion, for  example,  reports  that  in  spite  of  its  irregularity,  68  per 
cent  out  of  900  workers  questioned  depended  entirely  on  this  one 
industry  for  a  living.  Nor  can  those  girls  who  hold  their  places 
in  the  slack  season  well  do  otherwise,  with  the  slack  periods  so 
scattered  as  they  are,  a  day  here  and  a  day  there;  while,  as  has 
been  said,  the  casual  workers,  dismissed  after  Christmas,  have  to 
hunt  for  work  in  a  time  when  most  other  industries  are  also  slack. 
A  minimum  wage  in  this  industry,  to  give  the  women  a  "  living 
income  "  must  either  build  on  a  basis  of  greater  regularity  than 
exists  at  present,  or  make  an  adequate  allowance  for  the  losses 
from  seasonal  irregularity. 


CLOTHING 

INTRODUCTION 

The  seasonal  irregularity  of  the  various  "  needle  trades "  is 
notorious.  For  this  irregularity,  it  is  hard  to  say  whether  we 
should  hold  climate  or  human  nature  responsible.  We  naturally 
need  different  clothing  for  winter  and  summer.  At  the  same 
time  the  custom  of  "  something  new  for  Easter  "  and  the  ever 
changing  styles,  especially  in  woman's  clothing,  tend  to  increase 
the  concentration  of  retail  trade  in  two  short  seasons,  spring  and 
fall. 

Years  ago  retail  buyers  placed  their  orders  for  goods  a  long 
time  before  the  selling  season,  and  manufacturers,  too,  made  up 
goods  for  stock,  expecting  to  get  orders  when  the  season  came 
around.  This  kept  the  employees  at  work  the  greater  part  of  the 
time.  Recently,  however,  the  custom  has  become  more  and  more 
prevalent  for  buyers  to  place  their  orders  just  before  the  selling 
season  and  frequently  in  smaller  lots,  at  periods  during  the 
height  of  the  season.  Quick  delivery  is  always  expected.  This 
produces  a  short  rush  season  of  overtime  and  overwork  and  then  a 
long  period  of  slack  time  with  little  or  no  work.  A  great  num- 
ber of  women  are  affected  by  this  extreme  irregularity,  for  the 
"  needle  trades  "  are  well  to  the  front  among  industries  employ- 
ing women. 

That  all  garment  workers  alike  suffer  from  this  cause  is  evi- 
dent from  the  statistics  of  unemployment  among  union  members 
in  Massachusetts  and  New  York.  In  Massachusetts  the  percent- 
age out  of  work  on  the  last  day  of  each  quarter  is  reported.  This 
percentage,  for  the  years  1910-12,  averaged  9.2  per  cent,  at  the 
end  of  the  first  quarter,  11.7  per  cent,  at  the  end  of  the  second, 
20.1  per  cent,  at  the  end  of  the  third,  and  38.7  per  cent,  at  the 
end  of  the  fourth.  The  general  average  for  the  three  years  was 
19.9  per  cent. 

The  New  York  figures  for  the  same  years  run  perhaps  a  little 
lower,  but  they  are  taken  for  the  end  of  March  and  the  end  of 
September,  when  the  trade  dullness  is  by  no  means  at  its  worst. 
Figures  are  also  given  to  show  that  approximately  95  per  cent. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  357 

of  all  the  unemployment  in  this  industry  in  New  York  state  is 
caused  by  slack  work.  For  women  union  members,  the  average 
number  of  days  employed  quarterly  in  the  first  and  third  quarters 
of  a  year,  is  also  given.  The  full  number  of  working  days  in  a 
quarter  is  about  75,  but  from  1910  to  1912,  these  women  aver- 
aged only  from  39  to  64  days  of  work  in  a  quarter,  while  55  days 
is  a  representative  figure  for  a  general  average.  Roughly  speak- 
ing they  lost  not  far  from  a  quarter  of  their  time. 

While  idleness  on  account  of  trade  conditions,  therefore,  is  a 
burden  to  all  garment  workers,  there  is  some  difference  in  con- 
ditions between  work  on  men's  and  women's  clothing.  The 
former  includes  the  figures  for  such  articles  as  bath-robes,  rain- 
coats and  smoking  jackets,  staple  lines  for  which  the  demand 
varies  little  and  which  can  be  made  for  stock  if  necessary.  The 
workers  on  these  goods  are  therefore  little  troubled  by  seasonal 
differences,  and  this  fact,  together  with  a  somewhat  more  steady 
demand  without  very  sharp  changes  in  style,  causes  somewhat  less 
irregularity  in  the  manufacture  of  men's  clothing  than  women's. 
On  this  account  the  two  divisions  of  the  trade  are  considered 
separately. 

MEN'S  CLOTHING 

GENERAL  STATISTICS 

Few  factory  industries  employ  more  women  than  does  the 
manufacture  of  men's  clothing.  An  average  of  133,101  women, 
16  years  of  age  and  over,  were  at  work  in  this  line  in  1909,  ac- 
cording to  the  United  States  Census  of  Manufactures.  Ten 
years  before  the  number  had  been  only  99,000.  Though  the 
male  workers  were  increasing  somewhat  more  rapidly  than  the 
female  and  the  proportion  of  women  was  therefore  slightly  de- 
creasing, yet  the  women  were  still  in  the  majority,  forming  55 
per  cent,  of  all  wage  earners.  The  states  employing  the  largest 
numbers  of  women  workers  on  December  15,  1909,  were  New 
York  with  40,000,  Illinois  with  19,000,  Pennsylvania  with  16,- 
000  and  Maryland  with  10,000.  Other  States  employing  over 
2,000  adult  women  were  Indiana,  Massachusetts,  Missouri,  New 
Jersey,  Ohio  and  Wisconsin.  New  York  held  decidedly  the  first 
place,  but  the  industry  was  fairly  well  scattered  over  the  leading 
manufacturing  states. 


358  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

SEASONAL  VARIATIONS 

For  the  most  part  the  fluctuations  in  the  trade  follow  the 
familiar  course  of  busy  in  the  fall  and  in  the  spring,  dull  after 
Christmas  and  in  the  summer.  On  the  whole,  the  spring  busy 
season  is  more  active  and  lasts  longer  than  in  many  other  trades 
with  a  correspondingly  later  and  slighter  rush  in  the  fall.  In  a 
few  localities,  as  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  the  first  half  of  the 
year  is  a  good  deal  busier  than  the  last  half.  In  Kentucky  in 
1911,  the  "  Commission  on  the  Condition  of  Working  Women" 
found  that  at  least  three  months  a  year  were  slack.  Some  em- 
ployees are  discharged  as  the  slack  season  comes  on,  the  rest  work 
short  hours,  and  on  many  days  find  the  shop  closed  entirely,  so 
that  their  earnings  fall  off. 

Sarah  M.  may  represent  the  unlucky  ones  whom  the  industry 
cannot  use  all  the  year.  She  had  been  earning  only  $3.50  a 
week,  and  then  one  day  work  was  slack  and  her  employer  turned 
her  off.  For  three  months  she  could  not  get  work.  "  She  had 
saved  $6  and  that  partly  paid  for  a  place  to  sleep  with  a  family 
about  as  poor  as  she  was.  She  had  lived  for  weeks  on  two  cents 
worth  of  bread  a  day  and  a  little  tea,  and  after  three  months  of 
this  seemed  surprised  that  she  had  '  queer  feelings  in  the 
stomach '  and  palpitation  of  the  heart.  Her  landlady  sometimes 
cooked  a  supper  for  her,  charging  only  10  cents,  which  barely 
covered  the  cost  of  the  food,  did  her  washing,  and  helped  her  in 
every  way  she  could."1  Thus  by  the  kindness  of  the  poor  to  the 
poor  were  the  vicissitudes  of  seasonal  industry  endured. 

The  case  of  Esther  G.2  illustrates  the  troubles  of  the  worker 
who  is  not  discharged  outright  in  the  slack  season.  But  at  that 
time  she  could  get  only  enough  work  to  bring  her  average  weekly 
earnings  of  $1.96.  This  did  not  pay  her  expenses,  so  "her  land- 
lady trusted  her  for  her  room  rent,  she  used  what  little  money 
she  had  to  buy  food,  and  when  the  busy  season  came  again  began 
to  pay  off  the  burden  of  debt  which  she  had  accumulated." 

1  Women  and  Child  Wage  Earners,  Vol.  V.,  p.  67. 

2  Ibid. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  359 


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360  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

STATISTICS  OF  IRREGULAR  EMPLOYMENT 

In  the  clothing  trade  the  "  average  number  of  days  in  opera- 
tion yearly  "  are  somewhat  more  significant  of  the  actual  situa- 
tion than  usual  because  of  the  many  days  when  the  factories  are 
entirely  closed.  In  1912,  the  average  days  in  operation  in 
Massachusetts  was  only  273  and  in  New  Jersey,  233.  That  is, 
in  Massachusetts  the  steady  workers  lost  some  10  per  cent,  of  their 
time  from  the  closing  of  the  whole  factory  for  entire  days  and 
in  New  Jersey  they  lost  nearly  a  quarter  of  their  time  in  this 
way.  Their  full  time  earnings  would  be  reduced  proportion- 
ately from  this  one  factor  alone  without  allowing  for  all  the  short 
time  on  days  when  a  little  work  is  done. 

Variations  in  the  "  average  number  employed  by  months " 
have  been  given  for  the  whole  United  States  in  1909  and  for 
Massachusetts  and  New  Jersey  in  1912.  (See  Chart  XVIII.) 
The  differences  are  not  extreme,  about  10  per  cent,  at  the  most, 
though  half  of  this  difference  or  5  per  cent,  can  find  places  for 
only  three  months  out  of  the  year.  In  this  industry,  the  busy 
and  slack  seasons  may  not  come  at  the  same  part  of  the  year  in 
different  localities  and  different  sorts  of  shops,  and  whenever 
this  happens,  the  average  smooths  down  the  differences.  This 
is  often  the  case,  as  the  diagram  shows,  for  the  variations  in 
New  Jersey  do  not  correspond  with  those  of  the  United  States 
as  a  whole.  Some  figures  from  a  federal  report  on  the  industry 
make  this  still  more  evident.  The  five  leading  centers  for  the 
trade  are  considered,  New  York,  Chicago,  Rochester,  Philadel- 
phia and  Baltimore,  where  altogether  68.2  per  cent,  of  the  men's 
clothing  manufactured  in  the  United  States  was  turned  out  in 
1909.  Though  according  to  the  dates  of  the  week  when  fewest 
and  the  week  when  most  were  employed  the  general  tendency 
toward  slack  work  in  the  summer  and  after  Christmas  and  a 
busy  season  in  the  spring  and  late  fall  was  clear,  yet  there  was 
considerable  variation  between  the  different  cities. 

Still  more  striking  are  the  differences  in  steadiness  of  num- 
bers employed  between  the  various  cities  and  the  various  kinds 
of  shops.  (See  Table  7.)  The  basis  of  comparison  here  used 
is  the  per  cent,  which  the  maximum  and  minimum  numbers 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  361 

form  of  the  average  number  employed,  instead  of,  as  in  other 
schedules,  the  per  cent,  which  the  smallest  monthly  average  is  of 
the  greatest.  In  cities,  Rochester,  with  only  16  per  cent,  differ- 
ence between  this  smallest  and  largest  per  cent,  of  the  average 
number  employed,  forced  less  unemployment  on  its  workers  than 
Philadelphia  with  its  difference  of  29  per  cent.,  and  far  less  than 
Baltimore  with  its  difference  of  54  per  cent.  'Since  percentages 
are  given  for  only  one  shop  in  New  York,  no  general  deductions 
can  be  made  for  that  city.  In  Kentucky,  the  Commission  on  the 
Condition  of  Working  Women  found  a  50  per  cent,  difference  in 
1911  between  the  numbers  in  the  busy  and  in  the  slack  season. 
This  greater  steadiness  of  the  trade  in  Rochester  is  probably  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  "  inside  "  shop  prevails  there,  that  is,  the 
large  factory  where  a  single  firm  controls  the  manufacture  from 
beginning  to  end. 

Regularity  of  work  in  the  different  kinds  of  shops  may  be  com- 
pared from  the  Chicago  figures.  In  the  "  inside  shops,"  the 
difference  between  the  largest  and  smallest  number  employed  was 
only  8  per  cent.,  a  result  similar  to  the  general  averages.  But 
in  two  "  contract  shops/7  where  a  contractor  has  the  clothing 
made  up  which  he  gets  from  an  entrepreneur,  the  differences  were 
naturally  much  greater,  17  per  cent,  and  32  per  cent.  Three 
"  special  order  "  shops  were  investigated,  two  in  Chicago  and  one 
in  New  York.  In  a  "  special  order  shop  "  suits  are  made  to  in- 
dividual measure,  but  under  factory  conditions.  Such  a  shop  is 
the  link  between  custom  tailoring  and  ready  made  clothing. 
Since  work  is  done  as  the  orders  happen  to  come  in,  the  irregular- 
ity there  was  greatest  of  all.  In  the  two  Chicago  shops,  the 
fluctuations  were  51  per  cent,  and  90  per  cent.,  and  in  the  one  in 
New  York  City  the  difference  was  73  per  cent.  In  these  last 
two  shops  more  than  half  of  the  workers  must  have  been  thrown 
out  of  employment  for  a  part  of  the  year.  This  is  quite  a  differ- 
ent story  from  the  10  per  cent,  of  the  general  average,  and  goes 
to  show  once  more  how  such  averages  may  cover  up  the  real  con- 
ditions. 


362 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


TABLE  7 
MEN'S  CLOTHING  —  FIVE  LEADING  CENTERS  OF  THE  INDUSTRY,  1907-8 

FLUCTUATIONS  IN  NUMBERS  EMPLOYED,  WKEKLY  PAYROLL  AND  AVERAGE  WEEKLY  EARNINGS 
(Adapted  from  Woman  and  Child  Wage-Earners,  Vol.  II,  pp.  174-179) 


KIND  OP  SHOP 

PER    CENT.   OP 
AVERAGE   NUMBER 
OP  EMPLOYEES 

PER    CENT.   OF 
AVERAGE  WEEKLY 
PAYROLL 

PER    CENT.   OP 
AVERAGE   WEEKLY 
EARNINGS 

Smallest 

Largest 

Smallest 

Largest 

Smallest 

Largest 

I.  CHICAGO 

Large  inside  shops  

95.3 

103.6 

85.9 

112.9 

85.0 

112.5 

"  Contract     vest     shop," 

Scandinavian  

88.6 

120.0 

67.5 

112.6 

76.2 

112.3 

"  Contract     coat     shop," 

Bohemian  

87  5 

104  2 

74  5 

123  9 

71  6 

123  6 

"  Contract     coat     shop," 

German  

56  5 

135  9 

Ready-made  clothing  .... 

95.3 

103.6 

85.9 

116.3 

85.0 

112.5 

"  Special  order  shop  "... 

74.2 

125.8 

42.6 

166.7 

29.7 

•       171.9 

"  Special  order  shop  "... 

28.8 

118.0 

47.8 

128.0 

25.2 

146.4 

II.  ROCHESTER 

All  1           93  8 

109  9 

Q9.  a 

119.   9.                  Q»   4. 

IfU    9 

III.  PHILADELPHIA 

All       .                                |           79  1 

in«  A. 

A7    9 

19*;    9 

KA    1 

117    ft 

IV.  BALTIMORE 

All  |           72  1 

126  6 

5*   fi 

iai  a 

fia  4 

118   rt 

V.  NEW  YORK  CITY 

"  Special  order  shop  "... 

52.2 

125.8 

32.1 

158.2 

55.1 

138.0 

4*  Inside  contract  shop  "  . 

63.6 

117.7 

Besides  the  entire  closing  of  the  shops,  brought  out  by  the 
statistics  of  "  days  in  operation "  and  the  smaller  numbers  em- 
ployed in  the  busy  season,  shown  by  the  "  number  employed  by 
months,''  there  is  the  whole  question  of  short-time  which  is  much 
more  common  than  might  be  thought.  The  government  investiga- 
tion already  referred  to  computed  for  a  "  representative  week  " 
the  average  weekly  hours  actually  worked  and  the  actual  average 
weekly  pay  and  compared  the  results  with  full  time  hours  and 
full  time  rates  of  pay.  (See  Table  8-a.)  The  percentage  of  loss 
in  hours  and  that  of  loss  in  wages  is  almost  identical  and  forms 
one  more  proof  of  the  absolute  dependence  of  factory-workers' 
wages  on  the  number  of  hours  they  work.  There  was  a  decided 
loss  from  full  time  hours  and  full  time  rates  of  pay  in  every 
city,  varying  from  about  10  per  cent,  in  Eochester  to  more  than 
20  per  cent,  in  Baltimore —  and  it  must  be  remembered  that  this 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage 


363 


period  is  supposed  to  be  a  "  normal  week  " —  rather  busy  than 
dull.  Once  more  we  can  see  the  ineffectiveness  of  a  wage-rate  as 
a  measurement  of  the  actual  pay  received.  Furthermore,  there 
was  absolutely  no  uniformity  about  the  weekly  hours  that  differ- 
ent women  worked.  ('See  Table  8-b.)  In  Chicago,  in  this  same 
"  representative  week/7  7  per  cent,  of  the  women  worked  over- 
time, but  41  per  cent,  less  than  full  time.  In  one  establishment 
of  that  particularly  irregular  type,  the  "  special  order  house," 
over  a  quarter  of  the  women  worked  overtime  yet  nearly  a  third 
worked  less  than  three  days  in  the  selected  week.  It  is  impos- 
sible then  under  present  conditions  of  irregularity  to  assume  that 
all  the  workers  will  gain  from  possible  overtime  at  busy  seasons 
or  will  be  able  to  reach  any  one  level  of  wages. 

TABLE  8 
MEN'S  CLOTHING  —  FIVE  LEADING  CENTERS  OF  THE  INDUSTRY,  1907-8 

A.     FULL-TIME  AND  ACTUAL  WORKING  TIME,  FULL-TIME  WAGES  AND  ACTUAL  AVERAGE  WAGES 

IN   A    "  REPRESENTATIVE   WEEK."     WOMEN    16   AND   OVER 
(Adapted  from  "  Woman  and  Child  Wage-Earners,  Vol.  II,  pp.  107,  125  and  161) 


CITY 

Average 
regular 
weekly 
hours 

Average 
hours 
actually 
worked 
during 
week 

Per  cent, 
time 
lost 
during 
week 

Per  cent, 
wagea 
lost 
during 
week 

Computed 
full 
time 
earnings 

Average 
actual 
weekly 
earnings 
for  the 
week 

Rochester  

54  6 

49  2 

9  7 

9  8 

$7  68 

56  93 

Chicago  

54.3 

48  4 

10  9 

11  0 

8  03 

7  15 

New  York  

57.2 

49.9 

12.7 

12  6 

6  57 

5  74 

Philadelphia 

54  6 

47  4 

13  2 

12  9 

6  89 

6  00 

Baltimore 

57  7 

45  8 

20  6 

20  6 

6  07 

4  82 

B.     PER  CENT.  OF  WOMEN  IN  CHICAGO,  1907-8,  WORKING  OVERTIME,  FULL-TIME,  AND  SPECIFIED 

NUMBERS  OF  DATS  PER  WEEK  IN  A   "  REPRESENTATIVE  WEEK."     WOMEN  16  AND  OVER 

(Adapted  from  "  Woman  and  Child  Wage-Earners,  Vol.  II,  pp.  110-112) 


KIND  OF  SHOP 

Overtime 

Full  time 

5  days  — 
full  time 

3-5  days 

Less  than 
3  days 

All 

7  5 

50  8 

11  7 

20  9 

9  1 

"  Special  order  "  shop  

27.1 

11  3 

2  2 

28  1 

31  3 

"  Ready-Made  "  establishment  

3.4 

59.0 

13.8 

19.1 

4.7 

SHIFTING 

This  same  federal  report  finds  that  only  18  per  cent,  of  the 
workers  stayed  in  the  factories  investigated  for  a  whole  year. 
(See  Table  9.)  Sixteen  per  cent,  remained  from  fifteen  to 
thirty  weeks,  and  the  same  proportion  from  thirty  to  fifty  weeks, 
20  per  cent,  from  five  to  fourteen  weeks,  and  28  per  cent. 


364 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


less  than  five  weeks.  Workers  remained  longest  in  Rochester, 
then  Philadelphia,  Chicago  and  Baltimore  followed  in  the  order 
named.  These  cities  have  the  same  rank  in  variations  in  the 
numbers  employed.  It  seems  probable,  therefore,  that  many 
workers,  after  a  few  weeks'  work  were  forced  out  of  the  garment 
trade  into  other  work  or  into  unemployment. 

TABLE  9 
MEN'S  CLOTHING  —  FIVE  LEADING  CENTERS  OF  THE  INDUSTRY,   1907-8 

PBB  CENT.  OF  EMPLOYEES  REMAINING  GIVEN  NUMBERS  OF  WEEKS  IN  THE  SAME  FACTORY 
(From  Woman  and  Child  Wage-Earners,  Vol.  II,  p.  166) 


NUMBER  OP  WEEKS  IN  SAME 
FACTORY 

Rochester 

Philadel- 
phia 

Chicago 

Baltimore 

Total 

Under  5  

11.8 

17.3 

34  9 

38  2 

28  2 

6-14  

17.8 

21.8 

21.4 

20.2 

20  6 

15-29  

13.7 

21.6 

16.1 

16.9 

16.9 

30-49 

22  4 

17  4 

13  6 

15  3 

16  0 

60  and  over 

34  3 

21  9 

14  0 

9  4 

18  3 

VARIATION  IN  EARNINGS 

Finally  we  come  to  the  more  important  point,  the  effect  of  this 
seasonal  irregularity  upon  earnings.  For  such  wage  fluctuations, 
though  we  have  no  one  general  set  of  figures,  yet  we  have  a  few 
for  the  different  kinds  of  shops  in  the  leading  cities  of  the  trade, 
figures  which  are  comparable  to  those  of  the  fluctuations  in  num- 
bers. First,  this  federal  report  gives  the  per  cent,  of  difference 
between  the  largest  and  smallest  total  amount  of  wages  paid  out 
in  different  weeks  during  the  year  for  all  workers.  Then,  there  is 
given  also  the  percentage  of  variation  between  the  largest  and 
smallest  average  weekly  wage.  The  latter  may  fairly  be  said  to 
give  an  idea  of  the  extent  to  which  steady  workers'  earnings 
suffer  from  the  irregularity  of  the  trade.  Except  in  Rochester, 
where  there  is  only  a  6  per  cent,  variation,  these  differences  are 
always  large.  (See  Table  7.)  With  these  figures  may  be  com- 
pared the  results  of  investigation  in  Kentucky,  where  the  Com- 
mission on  the  Condition  of  Working  Women  in  1911  found 
average  weekly  wages  of  $5-$  6  in  "  normal  "  times,  rising  to  $6- 
$7  during  the  busy  season,  but  falling  as  low  as  $l-$4  for  those 
having  any  work  at  all  in  slack  periods. 

The  other  set  of  variations,  differences  in  the  total  pay-roll, 
result  both  from  differences  in  the  numbers  employed  and  from 
changes  in  the  amounts  earned  by  the  steady  workers  as  well. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  365 

Naturally,  then,  fluctuations  in  wages  are  greater  than  the  dif- 
ferences in  numbers  alone.  (See  Table  7.)  In  one  instance,  that 
of  a  "  contract  coat  shop —  Bohemian  "  in  Chicago,  where  the 
number  of  workers  varied  only  17  per  cent,  from  season  to  sea- 
son, the  wages  varied  49  per  cent.,  indicating  the  tremendous  loss 
from  slack  time  suffered  by  the  steady  workers. 

Another  estimate  of  the  loss  in  earnings  from  short  time  and 
seasonal  irregularity  was  made  by  the  Wisconsin  State  Federation 
of  Labor  for  union  members  in  1913.  Among  garment  workers, 
both  men  and  women,  the  actual  average  yearly  earnings  were 
$432  and  the  computed  full  time  yearly  earnings  $512.  The 
difference  is  15.7  per  cent,  and  this  loss  occurred  among  both  sexes, 
including  men  who  being  the  more  highly  skilled  workers  gener- 
ally suffer  less  from  irregularity,  and  among  union  members  with 
whom  trade  conditions  are  always  at  their  best. 

WOMEN'S  CLOTHING 
GENERAL  STATISTICS 

A  very  large  number  of  adult  women  are  also  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  all  kinds  of  women's  clothing.  A  decline  in 
home  dress-making  is  evident  from  the  great  increase  in  the 
number  of  women  wage-earners  in  this  industry  —  an  increase  of 
54  per  cent,  from  the  56,000  employed  in  1899  to  the  97,000 
employed  in  1909.  Proportionally,  however,  there  was  a  slight 
tendency  for  men  to  replace  women,  but  female  employees  were 
still  decidedly  in  the  majority  in  1909,  being  63  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  working  force,  though  in  1899  they  were  about  68  per 
cent.  The  trade  is  extremely  concentrated,  centering  in  New 
York  City,  where  nearly  59,000  —  over  half  the  total  number  of 
women  workers  —  were  found  on  December  15,  1909.  The  next 
state,  Pennsylvania,  was  a  long  way  behind  with  only  11,000  and 
Ohio  came  third  with  only  6,000.  Conditions  in  New  York 
City,  then,  may  well  be  considered  in  detail. 

SEASONAL  VARIATIONS 

There  are  no  staple  articles  comparable  to  those  in  men's  cloth- 
ing, made  in  the  woman's  clothing  trade  which  feels  the  full 
effect  of  rapid  changes  in  style  and  of  an  eager  demand  at  two 


366  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

short  seasons  of  the  year.  In  the  spring  as  many  employees  as 
can  be  gotten  together  work  long  hours,  frequently  overtime, 
under  high  pressure.  Then  work  drops  off,  till  July  can  only 
be  described  as  *'  dead."  The  trade  begins  to  pick  up  again  in 
August  and  is  busy  through  the  fall,  though  hardly  as  intensely 
so  as  in  the  spring.  By  the  end  of  November  most  women  have 
bought  their  winter  outfits,  and  everything  is  slack  again  till 
February.  The  result  of  these  two  busy  and  two  dull  sea- 
sons is  that  many  women  can  find  work  only  a  small  part 
of  the  year,  and  that  the  rest  see  their  wages  drop  off 
and  find  the  shops  closed  entirely  for  many  days  during 
the  slack  season.  Dr.  Woods  Hutchinson,  studying  the 
situation  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry  in  New  York  City 
in  1910  described  it  as  '*  good  work  for  four  months,  moderate  for 
six,  and  very  little  for  two  months  out  of  every  year."  The  case 
of  Rachel,  a  shirt-waist  operative,  cited  by  Mrs.  Clark  and  Miss 
Wyatt  in  "  Making  Both  Ends  Meet/'  illustrates  how  this  affects 
a  woman's  wages.  For  four  months  she  could  get  full  time  work 
and  earned  $14  or  $15  a  week.  For  three  months  she  worked 
only  five  days  a  week,  earning  about  $12.  Four  months  more 
she  worked  three  or  four  days  and  earned  only  $7-$  10  weekly, 
and  one  month  she  could  get  no  work  at  all.  Her  average  weekly 
wage  when  the  whole  year  was  considered  was  little  more  than 
$10,  a  third  less  than  what  she  could  make  with  full-time  work. 

STATISTICS  OF  IRREGULAR  EMPLOYMENT 

Many  women  are  even  worse  off  than  Rachel,  for  she  was  en- 
tirely out  of  work  only  one  month  in  the  year.  The  general  situ- 
ation is  shown  by  the  variation  in  numbers  in  the  dress  and  waist 
industry  in  New  York  City  in1  1912.  (See  Chart  XIX.)  These 
figures  show  that  in  July  half  the  employees  in  the  industry  were 
out  of  work  and  for  three  months  more,  June,  August  and  Janu- 
ary, a  quarter  of  the  largest  number  employed  could  not  find 
places.  This  situation  is  apparently  worse  than  are  conditions  in 
those  states  where  the  trade  is  only  slightly  developed,  since  the 
variation  from  the  maximum  in  the  latter  was  smaller,  only  15 
per  cent,  in  Wisconsin  and  New  Jersey  for  two  months  a  year, 
1  U.  S.  Department  of  Labor,  Bulletin  No,  146,  p.  150. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  367 


CHART  XIX 
DRESS   AND  WAIST   INDUSTRY,  NEW  YORK   CITY 
AVERAGE   NUMBER   EMPLOYED  AND  TOTAL  AW 
WAGES   BY   MONTHS.      MALE   AND   FEMALE 

(MAXIMUM  =  100%! 

',  1912 
OUNT 

100* 
60% 
60% 
40% 
20% 

MONTH 

100% 

/ 

fi 

/     \ 

\ 
\ 

^\ 

80% 

/ 

// 

\+ 

N 

• 
^ 

/ 

/ 

\ 

,\ 

\ 

1 

' 

1 

it 
«*» 

\ 

\ 

I 

T 
i 

\ 

\ 
V 

60%- 

• 

\ 

• 
\ 

\      I 

// 

\ 
\ 

•  — 

•—  • 

\ 
\ 

\l 

/ 

40% 

1          / 

(       ' 
\  / 

V 

20%- 

MONTM 

JAN.. 

FEB. 

MARCH'  APRIL 

MAY 

JUNE 

JULY 

AUG. 

SEPT. 

OCT. 

NOV. 

DEC. 

368  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

and  25  per  cent,  in  Massachusetts  during  two  months.  (See  Chart 
XX.)  The  drop  in  wages  was  even  greater  than  the  drop  in 
numbers,  the  difference,  as  has  been  said,  indicating  what  the 
steadiest  workers  lose  from  slack  time.  Only  40  per  cent,  of  the 
largest  amount  of  wages  was  paid  out  in  July  and  about  65  per 
cent,  in  January,  June  and  August.  These  figures  indicate  a 
loss  from  short-time  of  not  less  than  10  per  cent,  or  15  per  cent, 
of  the  wages  of  the  steady  workers. 

SUMMARY 

In  the  manufacture  of  clothing,  the  rush  season  is  the  spring 
and  the  slackest  the  summer.  January  is  somewhat  dull  and  the 
fall  is  busy.  On  the  whole,  the  women's  clothing  industry  is  more 
irregular  than  the  men's.  The  nation-wide  variation  in  the  num- 
ber employed  from  month  to  month  is  only  8  per  cent.1  in  the 
latter,  but  a  closer  examination,  week  by  week,  of  different  sorts 
of  shops  and  different  localities,  discloses  differences  of  from  16 
per  cent,  to  54  per  cent.  These  figures  bring  out  the  large  num- 
bers of  women  who  are  necessarily  unemployed  during  part  of 
the  year;  the  still  greater  wage  differences  from  season  to  season 
show  that  the  steady  workers  lose  from  short  time.  In  the  manu- 
facture of  women's  clothing  in  New  'York  City,  the  center  of  the 
industry,  in  1913,  the  number  of  employees  fell  45  per  cent,  in 
the  dull  season  and  wages  fell  60  per  cent. 

What  is  the  result  of  this  alternation  of  high  pressure  and  lack 
of  work  on  the  women  themselves  —  on  their  lives  as  well  as  their 
wages  ?  It  may  be  summed  up  in  the  words  of  an  operator  herself. 
"In  the  rush  season,"  she  said,  "we  worked  from  8  o'clock  in 
the  morning  till  9  o'clock  at  night.  We  only  went  from  bed  to 
work  and  from  work  to  bed  again,  and  sometimes  if  we  sajt  up  a 
little  while  at  home  in  the  evening,  we  were  so  tired  we  could  not 
speak  to  the  rest  and  we  hardly  knew  what  they  were  talking 
about.  And  still,  although  there  was  nothing  for  us  but  bed  and 
the  machine,  we  could  not  earn  enough  to  take  care  of  ourselves 
through  the  slack  season."2 

1  See  Chart  XVIII. 

2 "  Making  Both  Ends  Meet  "  by  Edith  Wyatt  and  Sue  Ainslee  Clark, 
p.  132. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  369 


CHART  XX 

WOMEN'S   CLOTHING 

AVERAGE   NUMBER   EMPLOYED   BY  MONTHS. 

100% 
80% 

(MAXIMUM  =  100% 

100% 
90% 
80% 
70% 

/ 

/\ 

H 

—'\ 

7 

^ 

-** 

WISI 

ONS 

IN  19 

09. 

60% 
1OO% 

90%- 

FEMA 

ESO 

/ER1 

60% 
100% 

90% 

/ 

/^ 

X 

\ 

r 

—  • 

\ 

* 

\ 

/ 

80% 

\ 

/ 

80% 

MAS 

SAC 

1USE 

TTS 

0f2. 

•—  -- 

70% 
100% 

90% 

•ov 

ALL  F 

EMAl 

ES 

100% 
90% 
80% 

~*\ 

^ 

> 

^ 

•---' 

v 

^ 

NE1 

'JER 

SEY 

912. 

70% 

JSn 

rEMA 

IRT¥M 

LESO 

VSET|l 

6 

70% 

JAN. 

FEB. 

MARCH!  APRIL 

MAY 

JUNE 

JULY 

AUG. 

SEPT. 

OCT. 

NOV. 

DEC. 

370  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

All  legal  minimum  wage  rates  in  the  United  States  thus  far 
are  weekly  rates.  How  far  this  kind  of  wage  award  would  come 
from  providing  a  living  wage  to  a  garment  worker  is  shown  by 
the  case  of  "  Rachel,"  previously  mentioned,  who,  though  a 
steady,  experienced  worker,  had  an  average  weekly  wage  for  the 
year  falling  a  third  below  her  full  time  rate.  Any  adequate 
minimum  wage  rate  in  the  garment  trades  must  make  an  allow- 
ance for  this  loss  from  slack  work,  and  25  per  cent,  would  not  be 
too  high  a  figure  for  such  an  allowance.  If,  in  this  way,  financial 
pressure  was  brought  to  bear  upon  the  employer  to  give  steady 
employment  to  perhaps  fewer  people  and  to  end  the  tension  and 
overwork  of  the  busy  season,  not  only  the  pocketbooks,  but  the 
health  and  nerves  of  the  workers  and  thereby  the  community 
would  profit  greatly. 


SHIRT-MAKING 


GENERAL  STATISTICS 

Owing  to  the  steadier  demand  and  more  staple  nature  of  the 
product,  the  making  of  shirts  is  one  of  the  less  seasonal  of  the 
industries  grouped  as  "  needle  trades. "  In  the  north  the  business 
varies  considerably  from  season  to  season,  but  hardly  to  the  same 
degree  as  do  most  other  branches  of  clothing  manufacture. 

In  the  latest  United  States  Census  of  Manufactures,  taken  in 
1909,  the  figures  for  "  shirts  "  are  combined  with  those  for  "  men's 
clothing,"  so  that  exact  statistics  about  the  number  of  women 
wage-earners  in  the  industry  cannot  be  given.  The  census  esti- 
mated, however,  that  there  were  about  48,000  wage-earners  em- 
ployed in  shirt-making  and  that  probably  three-quarters  of  those 
were  women.  New  York  is  the  leading  state  in  the  industry  em- 
ploying about  22,000  females. 

STATISTICS  OF  IRREGULAR  EMPLOYMENT 

In  Massachusetts  in  1912  the  "  average  number  employed  by 
months,"  showed  a  considerable  drop  in  the  number  of  women 
wage-earners  in  June,  July  and  August.  The  numbers  fell  in 
August  as  much  as  25  per  cent,  below  the  maximum.  In  New 
Jersey  in  the  same  year,  there  was  a  falling  off  of  nearly  10  per 
cent,  during  the  same  three  months.  In  Massachusetts,  the  num- 
bers during  the  rest  of  the  year  remained  steady,  but  in  New 
Jersey  a  higher  level  was  reached  during  the  first  months  of  the 
year.  A  federal  investigation  in  1911  likewise  found  marked 
busy  and  slack  seasons  in  California  and  Maryland  factories. 

In  New  York  state,  according  to  the  recent  and  extensive 
study  of  the  trade  carried  on  by  the  New  York  State  Factory 
Investigating  Commission  for  the  year  beginning  December  15, 
1912,  the  seasonal  variation  of  the  industry  in  New  York  City 
was  not  wholly  identical  with  that  in  other  parts  of  the  state. 
This  is  due  largely  to  the  different  lines  of  goods  manufactured 
in  the  city  and  upstate.  In  New  York  City  the  principal  prod- 


372  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

uct  is  cheap  work-shirts,  a  relatively  staple  product,  so  that  the 
busy  season  is  there  distributed  over  a  large  part  of  the  year,  not 
following  exactly  the  familiar  course  of  busy  in  the  fall  and 
spring,  slack  after  Christmas  and  in  the  summer.  Upstate, 
however,  the  seasonal  variations  are  greater  and  more  frequent 
and  the  summer  is  distinctly  dull. 

From  this  investigation  the  monthly  and  weekly  fluctuations  in 
numbers  employed  can  be  obtained.  These  statistics,  together 
with  the  variation  in  amount  of  wages  by  months,  are  presented 
graphically  in  Chart  XXI.  In  the  city  the  numbers  fell  in 
March  13  per  cent,  below  their  highest  point  which  came  in 
November,  while  upstate  the  maximum  number  was  also  at  work 
in  November,  but  the  smallest  number  of  workers,  17  per  cent, 
below  the  maximum,  was  found  in  August.  As  usual,  the  fluctu- 
ations by  weeks  were  greater  than  by  months.  In  the  city, 
weekly  variations  were  15  per  cent,  instead  of  the  13  per  cent, 
by  months ;  and  upstate  weekly  variations  were  31  per  cent,  while 
the  greatest  monthly  variation  was  only  17  per  cent. 

Interviews  with  selected  women  workers  by  the  New  York 
State  Factory  Investigating  Commission  showed  in  a  large  num- 
ber of  cases,  time  lost  for  industrial  reasons.  While  out  of  94 
women  interviewed  upstate,  10  lost  no  time  whatever,  among  the 
remaining  84,  there  were  45  instances  of  loss  of  time  for  indus- 
trial reasons,  averaging  eleven  days  each.  Among  177  women 
in  New  York  City,  18  were  entirely  out  of  work  for  from  one 
week  to  six  months  and  70  lost  from  one  week  to  four  months  on 
account  of  slack  work.  There  were  102  women  who  reported  a 
loss  of  time  from  industrial  reasons  and  their  average  loss  of  time 
was  34  days,  over  a  tenth  of  the  possible  number  of  working  days 
in  the  year.  But  since  most  of  the  workers  are  employed  at 
piece-work,  no  variation  in  numbers  is  an  adequate  measure  of 
the  full  extent  of  the  irregularity.  Shirt-making  is  another 
industry  in  which  earnings  must  be  studied  in  order  to  under- 
stand the  full  effect  of  seasonal  irregularity. 

SHIFTING 

There  is  some  evidence  to  show  a  similar  flux  of  workers  in  the 
shirt-making  industry  to  that  found  in  so  much  other  factory 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  373 


CHART  XXI 
SHIRT  MAKING 
NEW  YORK,    DECEMBER  1912-  DECEMBER  1913 
AVERAGE   NUMBER   EMPLOYED  AND.  TOTAL  AMOUNT 
WAGES   BY     MONTHS.     MALE  AND  FEMALE 

100% 

(MAXIMUM  =  100%l 

10OX 

\ 

/; 

~?^ 

/     \\ 

\ 

90% 

1 

fcN 

r 

^ 

\ 

90% 

v 

>/ 

'« 

80% 
100% 

90% 

NEV 

YORK 

CITY 

80°X 
100% 

90% 

^ 

\ 

^ 

** 

\ 

-'- 

^ 

I 

;. 

/\ 

"s^ 

\ 
X 
X 

v" 

X    • 
X 
X 

\ 

V 

1 

eo'x 

\         / 

80% 

X     1 

\  i 

V 

,0, 

UPS 

FATE 

,0* 

JAN. 

FEB. 

MARCH  APRIL 

MAY 

JUNE 

JULY 

AUC 

SEPT. 

OCT 

NOV. 

DEC. 

374  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

work.  In  one  New  York  factory  whose  pay-rolls  could  be 
checked  back  for  a  year,  the  State  Commission  found  that  17  per 
cent,  of  the  workers  had  remained  less  than  four  weeks,  24  per 
cent,  more,  from  five  to  sixteen  weeks  and  but  29  per  cent,  had 
stayed  49  weeks  or  longer. 

VARIATIONS  IN  EARNINGS 

The  most  adequate  measure  of  seasonal  variations  in  shirt- 
making  is  therefore  the  fluctuations  in  wages.  Both  in  New 
York  City  and  up-state,  the  changes  in  the  amount  of  wages  paid 
out  at  different  seasons  are  greater  than  the  changes  in  numbers. 
By  months,  wages  in  the  city  were  at  their  lowest  point  in  April, 
when  they  were  12%  per  cent,  below  the  maximum,  while  up- 
state the  greatest  decline  was  23  per  cent,  in  August  (see  Chart 
XXI).  By  weeks  the  differences  are  considerably  larger,  being 
approximately  19  per  cent,  for  the  city  and  very  nearly  40  per 
cent  for  the  rest  of  the  state.  The  proportionately  greater  de- 
cline in  wages  than  in  numbers  is  of  course  mainly  the  result  of 
short-time  in  reducing  the  wages  of  employees  who  remain  on  the 
pay-rolls  during  the  dull  seasons. 

Even  in  these  totals,  combining  as  they  do  many  different  es- 
tablishments, the  extreme  fluctuations  in  individual  factories  are 
undoubtedly  smoothed  out  to  a  considerable  extent.  Such  is  the 
conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  the  large  variation  at  different  sea- 
sons in  the  average  wage  of  women  workers  questioned  on  this 
point  by  the  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission.  In  New 
York  City  where  the  greatest  weekly  variation  in  wages  was  about 
19  per  cent,  the  average  weekly  wage  of  197  women  workers 
was  $7.39  in  rush  seasons  and  only  $5.13  in  dull  seasons,  a  dif- 
ference of  25  per  cent  Between  dull  and  "  normal "  seasons 
alone  there  was  a  falling  off  of  6%  per  cent,  in  wages.  Out  of 
85  women  workers  up-state,  14  reported  no  difference  in  their 
wages  from  season  to  season,  but  the  others  received  average 
weekly  wages  which  were  12  per  cent,  lower  in  dull  than  in 
"  normal "  times,  twice  as  great  a  difference  as  in  the  city.  No 
figures  as  to  rush  seasons  were  given. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living   Wage  375 

SUMMARY 

Shirt-making,  then,  is  irregular  like  other  needle  trades,  and 
this  seasonal  irregularity  is  reflected  to  some  extent  in  the  num- 
bers employed  at  different  parts  of  the  year.  Fifteen  per  cent, 
fewer  than  the  maximum  were  employed  in  New  York  City  in 
the  dullest  week  of  1913,  and  31  per  cent,  fewer  in  the  rest  of  the 
state.  It  is  a  study  of  earnings,  however,  which  best  brings  out 
the  extent  of  seasonal  variations,  for  even  those  who  hold  their 
places  during  dull  seasons  suffer  considerable  wage-losses  from 
short-time.  Wages  declined  19  per  cent,  in  New  York  City  in 
the  dullest  week  of  1913  and  very  nearly  40  per  cent,  in  the  rest 
of  the  state.  Under  these  conditions,  the  fixing  of  a  minimum 
weekly  wage  rate  alone  would  not  necessarily  provide  an  ade- 
quate annual  income  to  the  woman  worker. 


MISCELLANEOUS  NEEDLE  TRADES 


INTRODUCTION 

The  same  causes  —  a  greatly  increased  demand  at  two  seasons 
of  the  year,  style  changes,  and  a  consequent  reluctance  on  the 
retailer's  part  to  place  his  orders  far  in  advance, —  produce  great 
seasonal  irregularity  in  every  subsidiary  line  connected  with  the 
manufacture  of  clothing. 

MEN'S  FURNISHINGS 

There  is  the  manufacture  of  "  men's  furnishings,"  so  called, 
under  which  is  included  collars  and  cuffs,  suspenders,  belts,  neck- 
ties, etc.  Nearly  30,000  adult  women  found  employment  in  this 
industry  in  1909  and  about  half  of  these  were  in  New  York 
state.  The  evidence  obtainable  shows  here,  too,  dull  seasons 
after  Christmas  and  through  the  early  summer  till  the  first  of 
August.  In  Massachusetts  during  the  six  months  of  January, 
February,  April,  May,  June,  and  July,  1912,  the  number  of 
women  employed  fell  off  from  a  quarter  to  a  third.  March  was 
comparatively  busy.  Besides  this,  the  factories  were  open  on 
the  average  only  273  days  out  of  a  possible  305,  so  that  even  the 
steadiest  workers  must  have  lost  at  least  a  tenth  of  their  working 
time  and  full-time  wages.  A  union  official  in  New  York  City,1 
describing  similar  conditions  among  the  women  workers  on  men's 
neckwear  in  1913,  said  that  they  have  to  expect  slack  work  after 
Christmas  and  in  the  summer,  amounting  to  at  least  nine  weeks 
in  all  or  a  sixth  of  the  whole  year.  At  these  periods  what  little 
work  there  is  is  divided  equally  among  them,  so  they  do  not  lose 
on  an  average  quite  a  sixth  of  their  wages,  but  of  course  in  this 
slack  season  their  pay  falls  far  below  its  usual  level. 

VEST  MAKING 

In  vest  making  women  are  employed  only  for  the  most  un- 
skilled tasks.  This  condition  differs  from  other  work  on  men's 
garments  and  should  therefore  be  considered  separately.  Most 

i  Mary  Dreier  in  Life  and  Labor,  December,  1913,  p.  358. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  377 

of  these  women  are  out  of  work  for  three  months  every  year,  thus 
reducing  by  a  quarter  their  already  scanty  wages  of  $5-$8  a 
week. 

DRESSMAKING 

This  industry  is  one  of  the  older  occupations  for  women  in 
which  a  very  large  number,  estimated  at  40,000  for  New  York 
City  alone,  are  at  work.  Here  in  the  city,  the  more  important 
type  of  worker  is  no  longer  the  dressmaker  with  two  or  three  girls 
sewing  for  her,  nor  the  "  sewing  women  "  going  out  to  work  by 
the  day,  but  instead,  the  employee  of  the  large  custom  dressmaking 
establishment  or  custom  department  of  a  big  retail  store.  Much 
specialization  and  an  absence  of  any  personal  contact  exist  —  in 
other  words,  factory  conditions.  The  busy  seasons  in  such  shops 
are  the  usual  ones,  fall  and  spring,  October  and  November,  March 
and  April.  Particularly  in  the  spring  rush  girls  may  be  asked 
to  take  work  home  and  finish  it  or  to  work  at  the  shop  two  or  three 
evenings  a  week.  The  reverse  of  the  picture  is  more  or  less  slack 
time  after  Christmas  and,  almost  inevitably,  unemployment  during 
the  summer.  The  better  shops  may  tide  things  over  in  January, 
laying  the  women  off  in  relays,  or  possibly  not  at  all,  but  all  firms 
alike  turn  off  the  great  majority  of  their  force  in  the  summer.  An 
investigation  made  in  New  York  City  in  1909  revealed  the  fact 
that  a  quarter  of  the  dressmakers  questioned  had  been  out  of  work 
three  months  or  more  during  the  year.  The  following  instances 
are  typical.  "  Elsie,1  a  young,  capable,  energetic  girl,  was  working 
in  the  same  shop  for  the  third  season  at  $6  a  week.  She  was  laid 
off  from  July  4  to  September  10.  Mildred  who  had  received 
special  trade  training,  held  her  first  position  from  February  to 
June,  getting  $5  a  week.  Then  she  was  idle  about  three  months, 
ibut  in  September  began  work  in  another  place  at  $7  a  week, 
where  she  had  to  work  overtime  until  8  P.  M.  several  days  every 
week."  Dressmakers  are  generally  paid  a  flat  weekly  rate,  so 
there  is  but  little  possibility  of  increasing  their  earnings  by  over- 
time work.  Their  nominal  rate  of  pay  is  given  as  $5-$ 9  a  week, 
but  when  allowance  is  made  for  the  loss  of  from  two  to  four 
months  yearly,  from  a  sixth  to  a  quarter  of  their  working  lime. 
their  real  weekly  rate  is  lowered  to  from  $4  to  $8  instead. 


i "  Irregularity  of  Employment  of  Women/'  by  Louise  C.  Odencrantz,  in  the 
Survey,  May  1,  1909,  p.  207. 


378  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

MILLINERY 

In  the  millinery  trade  the  problem  of  irregularity  of  employ- 
ment is  even  more  acute.  There  are  nearly  125,000  women 
milliners  in  the  United  States  and  16,000  in  New  York  City  alone 
according  to  the  1910  Census  of  Occupations.  A  large  part  of 
these  women  can  get  work  in  their  trade  for  only  half  the  year. 
An  investigation  of  a  large  number  of  firms  in  Manhattan  in  19 131 
found  that  during  the  year,  the  number  of  employees  was  less 
than  25  per  cent,  below  the  maximum,  only  25  weeks  in  the  smaller 
retail  establishments,  31  weeks  in  the  larger  ones,  and  21  weeks 
in  the  wholesale  houses.  Naturally  the  busy  season  begins  some- 
what earlier  in  the  great  wholesale  establishments  where  hats  are 
made  and  trimmed  for  the  retail  trade  than  in  the  retail  shops 
themselves.  Wholesale  firms  commence  to  make  up  felt  hats  as 
early  as  July  and  end  their  work  usually  by  November  or  before ; 
work  on  summer  hats  begins  the  first  of  January  and  is  generally 
over  by  the  first  of  May.  Work  in  retail  stores  begins  and  ends 
generally  about  a  month  later.  This  is  well  illustrated  by 
the  number  employed  monthly  during  1913  by  the  Manhattan 
firms  previously  mentioned,  where  the  range  was  from  259  to  591 
in  the  retail  trade  and  from  468  to  1,141  in  the  wholesale  trade. 
(See  Chart  XXII.)  The  best  months  of  the  spring  season  for 
the  wholesale  firms  were  February  and  March  but  for  the  retail 
trade  they  were  March  and  April.  In  the  fall  the  wholesale  trade 
was  most  active  during  August  and  September,  whereas  the  retail 
houses  were  most  active  in  September  and  October.  Large  as  the 
differences  are  by  months,  they  are  even  greater  for  separate  weeks 
through  the  year.  In  both  branches  of  the  trade,  the  smallest  num- 
ber at  work  in  any  one  week  was  only  37  per  cent,  of  the  largest 
number.  It  is,  however,  very  difficult  for  the  girls  in  the  wholesale 
houses,  who  are  in  the  majority  in  numbers,  to  lengthen  each 
season  a  month  by  going  into  retail  shops.  In  the  first  place,  the 
work  is  on  a  different  basis.  The  retail  worker  is  paid  time  wages 
and  quality  is  emphasized,  whereas  most  of  the  wholesale  houses 
pay  on  a  piece  basis  so  that  quantity  of  output  becomes  the  im- 

*Made  by  the  Committee  on  Women's  Work  of  the  Russell  Sage  Founda- 
tion in  co-operation  with  the  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  379 


CHART  XXII 

MILLINERY,  SELECTED   FIRMS,   MANHATTAN, 
AVERAGE   NUMBER    FEMALES     EMPLOYED     > 
TOTAL  AMOUNT    OF  THEIR   WAGES,  BY    MON' 

(MAXIMUM  =  100%) 

1913. 
XND 
FHS. 

100% 
8O% 

100% 

'         / 

/-- 

Il\- 

/ 

A 

80% 

•'' 

I 

''1 

1 

\ 

V. 

2 

--.^ 

\ 

/ 

I 

\ 

1(1 

m 

\ 

' 

7 

\ 

, 

\ 

60% 

40% 

20% 

0 
100% 

BOX 

60% 

/ 

\ 

\ 

•'' 

/ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\; 

3 

\ 

\ 

40X 

\ 

W- 

*> 
--.'' 

-/ 

V 

20* 

NUN 

IERS 

0 

1OO% 

X 

/'\ 

r*s, 

60% 

/ 

••^ 

\ 

1 

^ 

/•/ 

\ 

\ 

* 

/ 

\ 

I 

r 

\- 

f 

V 

\ 

60% 

/ 

\ 

\ 

/ 

; 

\ 

1 

; 

\ 

2 

\ 

\ 

40% 
20% 

a 

4OX 

\ 

/ 

'V 

\ 

,,• 

v—  • 

._./ 

20% 

WAG 

:s 

0 

JAN. 

FEB. 

MARCH 

APRIL 

MAY 

JUNE 

JULY 

AUG. 

SEPT 

OCT 

NOV. 

DEC 

380  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

portant  consideration.  Then  by  the  time  the  wholesaler  is  thrown 
out  of  work,  the  height  of  the  season  in  retail  houses  is  past,  and 
a  reduction  in  their  force  has  already  begun  so  that  additional 
workers  are  seldom  needed. 

It  is  true  that  milliners,  like  so  many  other  women  workers, 
make  many  changes  from  one  position  to  another.  Out  of  3,983 
women  employed  in  the  course  of  a  year,  this  New  York  City  in- 
vestigation of  1913  found  that  only  672  or  17  per  cent,  of  the 
total  number  remained  40  weeks  or  more  in  the  same  position, 
52  per  cent,  stayed  eight  weeks  or  less  and  19  per  cent.,  more  than 
the  number  who  stayed  40  weeks  or  over,  were  in  the  same  position 
a  fortnight  or  less.  The  lowest  paid  were  found  to  change  the 
most  frequently.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  highly 
paid  designers  and  forewomen  are  by  far  the  more  likely  to  be 
retained  during  the  dull  season,  and,  knowing  that  from  60  to  75 
out  of  every  100  milliners  are  necessarily  unemployed  during 
that  time,  we  must  lay  the  responsibility  for  most  of  this  shifting 
to  the  short  seasons  of  the  trade  and  not  to  the  restlessness  or  in- 
efficiency of  the  workers. 

The  spring  rush  season,  with  everybody  anxious  for  a  new 
Easter  hat,  is  the  busiest  time  of  the  year.  At  that  time  late 
orders  from  customers  in  the  retail  trade  frequently  cause  over- 
time and  Sunday  work  which  is  seldom  paid  for.  However,  those 
few  retail  workers  who  keep  their  places  throughout  the  year, 
being  paid  a  flat  rate,  lose  little  from  short-time.  The  Manhattan 
investigation  of  1913  showed  that  the  minimum  amount  of  wages 
paid  out  week  by  week  through  the  year  to  the  retail  workers 
studied  was  33  per  cent,  of  the  maximum  amount  which  is  only 
slightly  below  the  37  per  cent,  difference  in  numbers.  On  the 
other  hand,  wholesale  workers  whose  wages  are  on  a  piece  basis 
of  course  gain  from  the  rush  to  some  extent,  but  even  the  minority 
who  are  kept  on  in  the  dull  season  suffer  wage  losses  from  short- 
time  during  that  period.  This  is  indicated  by  a  fall  in  the  total 
amount  of  wages  to  only  29  per  cent,  of  the  maximum  while 
numbers  fall  to  37  per  cent.  (  See  Chart  XXII. )  But  the  average 
weekly  returns  of  any  woman  milliner  become  very  meager,  when 
they  are  halved,  as  should  be  done  to  allow  for  a  lack  of  work 
during  half  the  year. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  381 


The  Alliance  Employment  Bureau  in  New  York  City,  which 
has  had  wide  experience  in  placing  girls  as  milliners,  considers  that 
only  20  per  cent,  or  less  of  all  milliners  can  hope  for  steady  work 
the  year  round.  From  the  height  of  the  season  there  is  a  gradual 
reduction,  then  at  the  end  the  few  who  are  left  are  also  laid  off. 

The  Bureau  found  in  1907  that  only  four  out  of  fifty-seven 
trade  school  graduates  were  able  to  stay  with  the  same  firm  a 
year  or  more  without  more  than  one  month  of  enforced  idleness. 
Finally,  the  industrial  histories  of  two  milliners,  both  girls  with 
special  training,  will  illustrate  how  this  irregularity  affects 
thousands  of  individual  women,  exposing  them  to  all  the  diffi- 
culties and  dangers  of  irregular  work  and  uncertain  pay.  (See 
Table  10,  A  and  B.)  Ten  positions  in  three  years  or  six  positions 
in  little  more  than  a  year,  with  long  periods  of  idleness  into  the 
bargain,  represent  that  most  undesirable  and  demoralizing  con- 
dition, the  life  of  the  casual  worker,  and  emphasize  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Manhattan  investigation  of  1913  that  in  order  to 
provide  a  living  income  through  the  year  for  milliners,  not  only  a 
weekly  minimum  wage  rate,  but  also  lengthened  seasons  are  of 
paramount  importance. 


TABLE  10 
MILLINERY  —  NEW  YORK  CITY 

A.    TRADE  HISTORY  OF  A  MILLINER,  1907  * 


No. 
posi- 

tion 

Number 
months 
employed 

Trade 

Kind  of  work 

Weekly  wage 

Reason  for  leaving 

1... 
2.  .  . 

6 
3 

Millinery  (retail, 
Patterson,N.J.) 
Millinery  (whole- 
sale) 

Apprentice  

None  
$6  (piece) 

Family  moved  to  N.  Y. 
"  Laid  off  "  slack  season 

3 

1 

Millinery  (retail) 

Learner 

$9  (time) 

"  Laid  off  "  slack  season 

4... 
5... 

2 

4 

Making  handker- 
chiefs  

Millinery  (whole- 
sale)   

f  Learner  
\  Operator  

Maker  

$5.50  (time).. 
$5-$6  (piece).. 

J8-J10  (piece). 

>To  return  to  millinery 

6... 

7..  . 

2 
3 

Medicines  
Millinery  (whole- 
sale) 

Wrapper,  labeler. 
Maker 

$5  (time)  

$8-$  14  (piece) 

To  return  to  millinery 

8 

3 

Medicines 

Wrapper,  labeler. 

$5  (time) 

9 

4 

Millinery  

Maker  

$8-814  (piece) 

44  Laid  off  M  slack  season 

10... 

3 

5  months 
Magazine    bind- 
ery   

out  of  work 
Folder,  etc  

«6  (time)  

Idle  half  of  each  month 

1  From  Annual  Report  of  the  Alliance  Employment  Bureau,  1907,  p.  12. 


382 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


B.     TRADE  HISTORY  OF  A  MILLINER  l 


No. 
posi- 
tion 

Dates  employed 

Kind  of  Work 

Weekly 

wage 

Reason 

for  leaving 

1 

Oct.  1-Nov.  15 

Millinery 

$4 

Slack  work 

2 

Nov.  15-Dec.  1    

Millinery 

$4 

Slack  work 

3  

1  month  out  of  work. 
Jan.  1-Jan.  15  

Millinery  .. 

$5 

To  return  to 

previous  place 

4  

Jan.  15-May  1  

Millinery.  .  . 

$5 

Slack  work 

5  

2  months  out  of  work. 
Aug.  1—  Nov.  1  

Millinery  .  .  . 

19 

Slack  work 

6 

Nov  1 

1  See  "  Irregularity    of  Employment    of    Women,"    by  Louise  C.  Odencrantz,  in  the  Survey, 
May  1,  1909,  p.  199. 

ARTIFICIAL  FLOWER  MAKING 

Other  sorts  of  manufacture  connected  with  the  millinery  trade 
are  likewise  highly  irregular.  The  making  of  artificial  flowers 
and  fancy  feathers  is  concentrated  in  New  York  City,  over  nine- 
tenths  of  all  the  adult  women  employed  being  found  here.  Miss 
Van  Kleeck's  exhaustive  study  summarizes  conditions  as  "  three 
or  four  months  of  slack  work  every  year,  its  varying  extent  de- 
pending on  whether  or  not  flowers  are  a  fashionable  trimming  for 
winter  hats.  Then  four  girls  out  of  five  are  out  of  work."1  She 
found  only  873  women  employed  in  the  slack  season,  19.5  per 
cent,  of  the  4,470  working  at  the  height  of  the  season  and  even 
this  small  minority  worked  part  time  and  at  reduced  rates.  This 
last  is  an  unusual  method  of  reducing  the  amount  of  wages  during 
the  slack  season.  The  average  weekly  wage  for  weeks  worked 
for  those  women  who  had  a  year  or  more  of  trade  experience  was 
found  by  this  investigation  to  be  $7.76.  On  this  basis  their  aver- 
age yearly  income  should  be  approximately  $400.  But  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  half  of  these  women  had  annual  incomes  of  less 
than  $300.  The  resulting  wage-loss  of  $100,  25  per  cent,  of  the 
computed  full-time  wage,  must  be  ascribed  mainly  to  slack  work. 
But  few  gains  from  overtime  are  possible,  since  home-workers 
take  most  of  the  extra  work  during  the  busy  season.  The  trade 
is  least  irregular  when  the  manufacture  of  fancy  feathers  is 
combined  with  the  flower  making,  but  at  the  best  "  June  is  dull 
and  the  fall  uncertain."2 


1  "Artificial  Flower  Makers/'  by  Mary  Van  Kleeck,  p.  41. 

2  Ibid,  p.  54. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  383 

STRAW  SEWING 

Another  branch  of  the  trade  is  straw-sewing,  by  which  is  meant 
the  sewing  by  machines  of  straw  braids  for  hats.  In  this  line  a 
majority  of  the  employees  are  women.  Practically  all  the  work 
is  done  in  five  months  of  the  year,  December,  January,  February, 
March  and  April  and  then  almost  all  the  force  is  dismissed.  This 
is  one  of  the  most  glaring  examples  of  seasonal  irregularity  ex- 
istent, but  the  problem  is  made  less  acute  by  the  comparatively 
small  numbers  involved  and  the  high  wage  level.  At  present 
women  operatives  can  average  $15-$30  a  week  through  the  brief 
busy  season  though  it  is  said  a  cut  in  wages  is  an  ever  present 
menace. 

FRENCH  EDGE  WORK 

With  the  present  styles  in  millinery,  many  of  the  factories 
making  straw  hats  have  filled  in  during  the  spring  and  summer 
with  "  French  edge  work."  This  is  the  finishing  of  the  rolled 
edges  of  velvet  hats,  and  is  highly  skilled,  highly  paid  machine 
work.  The  season  for  this  is  also  about  five  months,  closing  a 
little  before  the  straw-sewing  begins.  Unfortunately  it  often 
proves  extremely  difficult  for  the  same  operatives  to  master  the 
knack  of  both  these  trades. 

FUR  AND  FELT  HATS 

Only  about  a  quarter  of  the  wage-earners  employed  in  the 
making  of  "  fur  and  felt  hats  "  are  women.  All  figures  combine 
the  making  of  men's  and  of  women's  hats,  and  as  the  demand  for 
men's  hats  is  not  concentrated  in  one  part  of  the  year  to  the  same 
degree  as  that  for  women's,  the  irregularity  of  the  trade  is  thus 
reduced.  The  statistics,  however,  show  a  decided  drop  in  the 
number  of  women  employed  during  the  half  of  the  year  from 
April  through  August  or  September.  In  Massachusetts  in  1912 
this  difference  was  about  25  per  cent,  in  April,  66  per  cent,  in 
May,  about  33  per  cent,  in  June  and  July,  and  25  per  cent,  in 
August  and  September.  Moreover,  in  Massachusetts,  the  factories 
are  entirely  closed  for  many  days  yearly,  which  means  a  large 
loss  of  time  and  earnings  to  the  steady  workers.  In  1912,  there 
was  an  average  loss  of  53  working  days  or  15  per  cent,  of  the 


384  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

working  year  for  each  establishment,  by  this  inadequate  method 
of  measurement  alone.  When  we  add  to  this  the  short  time  not 
brought  out  by  these  statistics  but  which  almost  always  precedes 
the  entire  closing  of  any  factory,  we  see  that  the  steady  worker 
as  well  as  the  casual  one,  must  suffer  seriously  from  seasonal 
irregularity. 


BOOK  BINDING 


GENERAL  STATISTICS 

The  Census  of  Manufacturers  for  1909,  stated  that  an  average 
of  57,926  women  16  years  of  age  and  over  were  employed  in 
the  printing  and  publishing  business  in  1909.  This  number  was 
22  per  cent,  of  all  the  wage-earners  in  that  industry.  It  repre- 
sents a  slight  proportional  increase  from  20  per  cent,  in  1899  and 
a  large  increase  in  numbers  over  the  39,868  women  of  that  year. 
The  number  of  women  in  the  trade  increased  45  per  cent,  during 
the  deeade  while  the  number  of  men  increased  but  32  per  cent. 
According  to  figures  of  the  Census,  then,  the  women  tend  to  dis- 
place the  men  workers  to  some  extent.  While  bookbinding  is  but 
one  of  several  lines  of  work  included  under  this  general  head,  it 
is  in  binderies  that  many  of  these  women  are  employed,  and  as 
"  bindery  girls  "  they  must  be  added  to  the  long  list  of  women 
workers  whose  employment  is  irregular. 

SEASONAL  VARIATIONS 

These  bindery  girls  suffer  comparatively  little,  however,  from 
the  usual  seasonal  irregularity.  There  is  likely  to  be  an  increase 
of  work  before  Christmas  and  sometimes  in  the  spring,  while  the 
summer  is  apt  to  be  rather  dull.  Yet  these  changes  are  not  sharply 
marked  in  many  localities  and  classes  of  establishments,  and,  as 
a  result,  the  number  of  workers  does  not  vary  very  greatly  during 
the  year.  Eight  or  nine  out  of  every  ten  book-binders  can  hope 
to  hold  their  places  the  whole  year  through.  Irregularity  in  this 
industry  comes  through  the  erratic  hours  of  the  trade.  The  work 
is  done  just  as  the  orders  come  in,  so  weekly  or  monthly  in  the  case 
of  periodicals,  quarterly  sometimes  as  with  telephone  directories, 
or  at  wholly  irregular  intervals  will  come  a  short  period  of  long 
hours,  of  overtime,  and  perhaps  night  work,  followed  by  another 
comparatively  short  interval  of  slack  work  or  entire  unemploy- 
ment. Both  the  "New  York  cases  testing  the  constitutionality  of 
the  law  prohibiting  night-work  for  women,  the  Williams  case  in 


386  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

1907,  and  the  present  Schweinler  Press  case,  involve  bindery 
girls.  This  alternation  of  long  hours  with  short  ones,  or  no  work 
at  all,  causes  the  women's  wages  to  vary  correspondingly,  and  the 
net  result  of  it  all,  it  can  be  shown,  is  a  loss  in  both  time  and 
wages.  Investigators  have  found  like  conditions  in  the  trade  in 
New  York  City,  Philadelphia,  Pittsburgh,  and  Kansas  City. 

STATISTICS  OF  IB&EGHJLAB,  EMPLOYMENT 

Under  such  industrial  conditions,  the  measurement  of  trade 
irregularity,  "  number  of  days  in  operation  yearly  "  is  of  no  im- 
portance; 301  is  the  average  number  of  days  in  operation  yearly 
of  all  book-binding  establishments  in  Massachusetts,  1912;  for 
New  Jersey  in  the  same  year  the  same  figure  is  300.  This  simply 
means  that  some  variety  of  work  done  in  these  establishments  is 
always  going  on  and  that  some  of  the  men  and  women  are  always 
employed. 

The  varying  numbers  employed  at  different  seasons  of  the  year 
is  much  more  significant  in  some  parts  of  the  country  than  in 
others.  In  New  York  City  in  1910-11  this  difference  ran  as 
high  as  25  per  cent,  and  in  Kansas  City  in  1912—13,  it  was  20 
per  cent,  but  in  Massachusetts  in  1912  and  in  Philadelphia,  1914, 
it  was  only  12  per  cent.  In  Massachusetts  the  smallest  number 
were  at  work  after  Christmas  and  the  largest  number  in  the  late 
summer;  in  Philadelphia  the  busiest  period  was  before  Christ- 
mas and  the  slackest  during  June  and  July.  Seasonal  irregu- 
larity and  the  resulting  casual  work  are  in  some  cases  a  rather 
important  factor,  but  nowhere  an  adequate  measurement  of  the 
entire  extent  of  irregularity  in  the  industry. 

In  order  to  gain  a  more  complete  idea  of  its  seriousness  we  must 
turn  once  more  to  short  time  and  the  consequent  reduction  of  the 
earnings  of  the  steady  worker. 

While  Miss  Van  Kleeck,  in  her  study  of  book-binding  in  New 
York  City,  1910-11,  found,  as  has  been  said,  that  only  76  per 
cent,  of  the  women  workers  could  have  places  the  year  round,  she 
also  found  that  73  per  cent,  of  the  workers  lost  more  or  less  time 
from  lack  of  work  during  the  year.  The  entirely  irregular  char- 
acter of  the  losses,  a  few  hours  here  and  a  few  there,  or  an  odd 
number  of  days,  is  reflected  in  the  fact  that  a  quarter  of  the 
women,  the  largest  group  suffering  from  unemployment,  lost  some 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  387 


time,  but  could  not  tell  how  muck  (See  Table  11.)  The  report 
cities  the  instance  of  an  "  expert  folder  who  helps  to  bind  a  com- 
mercial register  issued  quarterly  "  who  was,  during  a  year,  at 
work:  February  1st  to  March  7th;  May  5th  to  July  15th;  August 
1st  to  Labor  Day;  November  15th  to  January  15th;  idle:  March 
7th  to  May  15th;  July  15th  to  August  1st;  Labor  Day  to  Novem- 
ber 15th.  She  had  work  little  more  than  half  the  year.  "It 
would  have  been  better,"  she  said,  "  to  have  had  $6  a  week 
steadily  instead  of  earning  $8  so  irregularly." 

TABLE  11 
WOMEN  BOOKBINDERS  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY,  1910-11 

NUMBERS  AND  PERCENTAGES  LOSING  DIFFERENT  AMOUNTS  OF  TIME  IN  A  YEAR 
(From  Women  in  the  Bookbinding  Trade,  by  Mary  Van  Kleeck,  p.  118) 


AMOUNT  OF  TIME  LOST 

Number 
losing 

Per  cent, 
losing 

No  time  

40 

27.0 

Less  than  1  month  

27 

18.1 

22 

14  9 

3—6  months 

14 

9.5 

6  months  or  more  
Time  of  uncertain  length  .  .  . 

8 
37 

5.4 
25.0 

Total  

148 

100.0 

The  prevalence  of  slack  work  is  further  shown  by  some  figures 
from  Philadelphia.  It  was  found  that  87  women  out  of  147  had 
changed  from  establishment  to  establishment,  making  200  changes 
in  all,  and  that  52  of  these,  very  nearly  a  quarter,  were  due  to 
dull  or  unsteady  work. 

In  Philadelphia  129  employees  were  asked  how  many  months 
of  the  year  they  were  not  employed  full  time.  More  than 
half  of  them,  it  turned  out,  were  on  short  time  from  one  to  eight 
months  during  the  year.  Twenty-five  worked  short  time  from 
six  to  eight  months,  30  between  three  and  six  months,  and  13,  one 
or  two  months.  The  largest  number  were  on  short  time,  six 
months  and  four  months,  a  half  and  a  third  of  a  year.  This 
prevalence  of  short  time  causes  us  to  turn  to  the  hours  worked. 
Where  did  this  loss  occur  ?  Again  from  the  Philadelphia  investi- 
gation, we  have  the  'average  weekly  working  hours  for  90  girls 
during  a  year.  Full  time  for  these  girls  was  48  hours  a  week, 
but  only  one  girl  reached  this  point,  whereas  two  averaged  only 
forty  hours.  Only  27  girls  averaged  from  45  to  48  weeks  during 


388 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  389 


the  year,  but  63  had  average  weekly  hours  between  40  and  44. 
Forty-three  hours  was  the  average  reached  by  the  greatest  number. 
Full  pay  is  obtained  only  for  full-time  work,  so  all  these  girls 
but  one  would  fall  below  their  nominal  rate  of  wages  for  the  year, 
10  per  cent,  being  the  most  frequent  loss. 

These  losses  from  full  time  conceal  wide  fluctuations  in  the 
hours  of  individual  workers  week  by  week  as  Chart  XXIII  illus- 
trates. This  chart  gives  the  actual  hours  worked  each  week  dur- 
ing the  year  by  a  Philadelphia  girl  who  is  said  to  be  a  "  typical 
worker."  Aside  from  the  two  weeks  when  she  had  no  work  at 
all,  this  girl's  weekly  hours  varied  all  the  way  from  8  to  64  and 
without  doubt  her  wages  went  up  and  down  correspondingly,  being 
eight  times  as  much  in  the  longest  as  in  the  shortest  week.  Her 
average  weekly  hours  for  the  whole  year  were  43,  making  her 
annual  loss  from  the  full  time,  48  hour  week,  and  consequently 
from  the  full  time  wage  rate,  about  10  per  cent. 

VARIATION  IN  EARNINGS 

Bookbinding  is  another  industry,  then,  in  which  wage-rates  and 
earnings  are  not  likely  to  be  identical.  To  study  this  relation  be- 
tween earnings  and  wage-rates,  the  weekly  rates  and  actual  average 
weekly  earnings  of  158  women  who  were  personally  interviewed, 
were  taken  from  the  pay-roll  by  the  Philadelphia  investigators. 
In  every  wage  group  above  $5,  with  the  exception  of  the  four 
women  at  $11  and  over,  fewer  women  were  found  to  receive  given 
amounts  than  were  rated  at  those  sums.  For  instance,  only  eight 
women  were  rated  at  less  than  $5  a  week,  but  35  actually  received 
these  amounts;  31  were  supposed  to  be  paid  between  $7  and  $8, 
but  only  24  actually  received  such  a  sum;  43  had  a  rate  of  be- 
tween $8  and  $9,  whereas  only  21  were  really  found  in  this  wage 
group. 

TABLE  12 
WOMAN  BOOKBINDERS,  PHILADELPHIA,  1912-13 

NUMBER  AT  GIVEN  RATES  AND  NUMBER  WITH  ACTUAL  AVERAGE  WEEKLY  EARNINGS 
(From  "  Occupations  for  Philadelphia  Girls,  No.  3,  Bookbinding,"  pp.  43-46.) 


$2- 
$2  99 

$3- 
$3  99 

$4- 
$4  99 

$5- 
$5S99 

$6- 
$6  99 

*^ 

$8- 
$8  99 

$9- 
$9  99 

$10- 
$10  99 

$11- 
and 
over 

Total 

Number  at  rate 

2 

2 

21 

6 
12 

20 
21 

23 

22 

31 
24 

43 
21 

17 
15 

12 
7 

4 
4 

158 

*149 

Number  with  actual  aver- 
age weekly  earnings.  .  . 

*Actual  average  weekly  earnings  not  given  for  nine  women. 


390  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

Miss  Van  KleecFs  investigation  in  New  York  City  shows  a 
similar  irregularity  in  earnings,  week  by  week,  and  a  similar  loss 
from  possible  full  time  earnings,  for  workers  supposed  to  be  paid 
a  flat  rate.  Two  examples  of  wages  each  week  for  a  month  are 
cited  as  "  typical."  The  first  is  a  magazine  binder.  The  first  and 
second  week  of  the  month  she  received  $12,  the  third  week  there 
was  no  work  at  -all,  the  fourth  her  pay  was  between  $8  and  $9. 
Her  average  weekly  wage  for  the  month  was  $8,  only  two-thirds  of 
her  maximum  wage.  A  "  learner  "  received  $4,  $5,  $5.92  and 
$4.65  for  the  four  weeks,  making  an  average  of  $4.92  for  the 
month,  about  five-sixths  of  her  highest  wage.  Miss  Van  Kleeck 
sums  up  the  losses  of  women  book-binders  in  New  York  City  by 
comparing  their  full-time  and  actual  annual  earnings  for  the 
year  studied.  Their  average  weekly  earnings  were  $7.22.  On 
this  basis,  annual  earnings  would  be  about  $375.  But  in  reality 
they  were  only  $325.  Thus  there  was  an  average  loss  of  $50 
yearly,  almost  a  dollar  a  week  or  14  per  cent,  of  the  weekly  wage, 
caused  by  the  alternation  of  long  hours  of  work  with  slack  time. 

SUMMARY 

Work  in  binderies  is  more  likely  to  be  good  in  the  spring  and 
before  Christmas  and  slack  in  the  summer.  In  consequence,  there 
is  a  reduction  of  the  working  force  of  from  12  per  cent,  in  Massa- 
chusetts and  Philadelphia,  to  23  per  cent  in  New  York  City  dur- 
ing the  dull  season.  But  in  addition  to  these  necessarily  casual 
workers,  all  the  women  feel  the  effects  of  the  variation  of  the 
work  with  orders,  the  result  of  this  irregularity  being  an  annual 
loss  in  hours  and  earnings.  From  all  the  evidence  it  would 
appear  that  on  account  of  these  irregular  hours  within  short 
periods,  unless  the  trade  becomes  more  regular,  any  weekly  wage- 
rate,  which  attempts  to  provide  the  worker  with  a  living  income, 
must  be  increased  by  a  tenth  (10  per  cent)  to  a  seventh  (14  per 
cent),  to  make  up  for  the  loss  in  time  and  earnings  suffered  by 
the  steady  employees  on  account  of  this  irregularity. 


SALESGIRLS 

GENERAL  STATISTICS 

According  to  the  volume  on  "  Occupations "  of  the  United 
States  Census  of  1910,  250,000  saleswomen  were  found  em- 
ployed in  retail  establishments.  In  addition,  of  the  111,000 
"  clerks  in  stores,"  the  larger  proportion  "  were  not  engaged  in 
clerical  work  but  were  also  salespeople  "  says  the  census.  Here 
is  an  industrial  army  of  uncertain  numbers,  but  approaching 
300,000  women  at  the  lowest  estimate.  Because  we  deal  with 
them  directly,  few  classes  of  workers  are  more  in  the  public  con- 
sciousness. The  salesgirl's  low  wages  with  her  necessarily  higher 
expenses  in  maintaining  a  good  personal  appearance,  have  been 
the  subject  of  much  popular  concern.  On  this  account  it  ig 
particularly  important  to  find  out  whether  the  average  salesgirl 
is  so  steadily  employed  that  a  minimum  wage  rate,  based  on  cost 
of  living  alone,  would  really  provide  her  with  an  adequate  "  liv- 
ing "  income. 

SEASONAL  VARIATIONS 

It  is  frequently  thought  that  the  earnings  of  salesgirls  are  not 
affected  by  irregular  employment,  since  the  girls  are  paid  by  the 
week  or  sometimes  by  commissions  on  sales.  Seldom  if  ever  is 
a  retail  store  or  any  part  of  it  closed  because  trade  is  slack. 
Therefore,  in  contrast  to  manufacturing  industries,  it  is  true  that 
the  women  who  are  so  lucky  as  to  keep  their  places  all  the  year 
round  suffer  very  slightly  from  seasonal  irregularity.  But  all 
the  facts  at  hand  show  that  a  very  large  percentage  can  find 
work  only  before  Christmas  and  in  the  spring  and  are  turned  off 
after  Christmas  and  in  the  summer.  For  these  girls,  retail  trade 
is  a  highly  seasonal  employment. 

STATISTICS   OF  IRREGULAR  EMPLOYMENT 

Taking  up  first  the  so-called  "  steady  "  workers,  a  District  of 
Columbia  inquiry  made  by  the  federal  Bureau  of  Labor  in  1912 


392  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

showed  considerable  steadiness  of  employment.  Over  200  women 
who  had  been  wage  earners  for  a  year  or  more  were  questioned 
on  the  subject  and  88  per  cent,  worked  more  than  40  weeks 
during  the  preceeding  year.  The  average  period  of  employment 
during  the  year  for  all  of  these  women  was  very  nearly  48 
weeks.  In  Massachusetts,  the  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage 
Boards  in  1911  also  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  work  is  very 
regular  except  for  some  "  forced  vacations."  A  few  women  were 
compelled  to  take  such  "  forced  vacations  "  without  pay  in  the 
summer  or  after  Christmas.  Only  5  per  cent,  of  the  steady 
workers  staying  throughout  the  year  in  a  single  store  lost  time 
from  industrial  reasons  and  these  few  lost  an  average  of  fifteen 
working  days  during  the  year.  The  Commission  also  found  in 
still  another  group  of  workers  whose  average  length  of  employ- 
ment in  one  position  was  42  weeks  out  of  the  year,  that  only  6 
per  cent,  lost  time  from  this  cause,  though  these  few  lost  a  large 
amount  of  time  in  this  way  —  18  per  cent,  of  their  total  period 
of  employment  or  46  working  days. 

We  do  not,  therefore,  find  evidence  that  the  steady  worker 
in  retail  stores  is  subject  to  any  great  loss  of  time  or  money  on 
account  of  lack  of  work.  But  we  still  have  to  consider  whether 
all  employees  can  find  steady  employment  throughout  the  year  in 
retail  stores.  The  facts  about  the  varying  numbers  employed  at 
different  seasons  are  undoubtedly  masked  by  the  constantly  chang- 
ing personnel  of  the  working  force  of  any  large  store.  Yet  con- 
siderable light  is  thrown  on  this  point  by  the  "  number  employed 
by  months "  which  the  New  York  State  Factory  Investigating 
Commission  obtained  for  the  eighteen  largest  department  stores 
in  New  York  City,  and  for  department  and  five-cent  and  ten-cent 
stores  in  the  rest  of  the  state  for  the  year  1913.  In  New  York 
City  stores,  the  largest,  smallest,  and  average  number  employed  is 
given  for  each  establishment,  the  figures  being  given  the  Com- 
mission by  the  firms  themselves.  The  table  following  shows  that 
nearly  40  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  employees  were  out  of 
work  at  the  slack  time  of  the  year.  While  in  one  store  (No.  7) 
the  difference  was  only  15  per  cent.,  in  another  (No.  11)  it  was 
almost  50  per  cent.  In  every  instance  the  greatest  number  of 
employees  was  at  work  during  the  Christmas  rush  and  the  small- 
est number  in  the  summer. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  393 


TABLE  13 
RETAIL  STORES,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  1913 

NUMBER  OP  EMPLOYEES  IN  THE  18  LARGEST  ESTABLISHMENTS 


FlBM 

Greatest 
number 
employed 

Least 
number 
employed 

Average 
number 
employed 

Per  cent, 
least 
number 
is  of 
greatest 

Dropped 
or  left 
during 
year 

Added 
during 
year 

Number    1  

5,724 

3,999 

4,296 

69.8 

5,950 

5,979 

2  

3,672 

3,075 

3,497 

83.7 

540 

875 

3  

884 

416 

533 

47.0 

538 

611 

4  

1,863 

1,252 

1,460 

67.2 

2,657 

2,605 

5 

5  187 

2  888 

3  500 

55  6 

8,750 

8,155 

6 

5,743 

3  283 

3,750 

57  0 

10,382 

12,159 

7              

2,205 

1,879 

1,979 

85  2 

1,795 

1,839 

8  

928 

459 

664 

49.4 

g 

3  125 

1  669 

2  359 

50  2 

10 

2  095 

1  518 

896 

72  4 

11 

2  369 

1  190 

760 

50  2 

12 

5  340 

3  483 

272 

65  2 

6,712 

6,809 

13 

1,250 

735 

800 

58  8 

746 

1,025 

14        

1,497 

1,020 

,085 

68  9 

477 

477 

15  

2,100 

1,570 

,800 

74.7 

16  

1,318 

642 

864 

48.7 

1,250 

1,286 

17  

2,887 

1,644 

2,313 

56.9 

2,539 

2,967 

18 

7  400 

4  600 

5  000 

62  1 

5  500 

Total.., 

55,587 

35.322 

41.828 

63.5 

Like  conditions  existed  in  the  up-state  stores.  (See  Chart 
XXIV.)  In  the  department  stores,  only  81  per  cent,  of  the 
maximum  number  were  at  work  in  February,  81  per  cent,  in 
July  and  76  per  cent  in  August  If  we  take  the  numbers  week 
by  week,  instead  of  the  monthly  averages  which  smooth  down 
the  extreme  variations,  there  was  an  even  greater  drop,  to  70 
per  cent,  during  the  third  week  in  August.  The  fluctuation  in 
the  total  amount  of  wages  paid  out  monthly  was  very  similar  or 
a  little  less  than  the  variation  in  numbers  —  quite  in  contrast  to 
the  situation  in  factories,  where  wages  drop  below  "  number  em- 
ployed "  on  account  of  the  losses  incurred  by  steady  workers 
through  short  time.  There  is  practically  no  such  short  time  in 
stores,  and  the  lower  paid  and  less  experienced  girls  are  more 
likely  to  be  discharged  during  the  slack  periods,  causing  the 
wage  level  for  those  who  are  left  to  rise  higher  at  this  time.  The 
five-cent  and  ten-cent  stores  up-state  showed  in  general  the  same 
state  of  affairs  in  regard  to  regularity  of  work  and  wages.  Aver- 
age numbers  employed  fell  off  somewhat  more,  to  71  per  cent,  of 
the  maximum  in  July  and  August,  by  monthly  averages,  and  to 


394 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


CHART  XXIV 
NEW  YORK,   UPSTATE   RETAIL  STORES,    1913 

AVERAGE   NUMBER  OF  SALESGIRLS  AND  TOTAL 
AMOUNT  OF  THEIR  WAGES    BY  MONTHS. 

(MAXIMUM  =  100%) 


100% 

DEP 

ARTMENT 

/ 

/ 

S 

TORE 

s 

^ 

<'"'/ 

:- 

s^^ 

^ 

-~*IT 

JM'BE 

R~S\ 

^ 

'* 

// 

y 

^y 

100% 

1 

s 

jr&ic 

TORI 

s 

1 

j 

•- 

V 

/? 

«tl 

^L 

>-:;c 

^_ 

-•/ 

^«— 

*s 

60% 

^*** 

si* 

^Gfe« 

100% 


90% 


80* 


60% 
100% 


90% 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  395 

60  per  cent,  in  one  week  in  February  when  the  number  employed 
week  by  week  was  considered  separately.  Wages  followed  a  like 
course,  though  the  percentage  of  variation  dropped  somewhat 
below  that  for  numbers  employed  during  the  first  months  of  the 
year. 

Evidence  as  to  similar  irregularity  comes  from  widely  scattered 
points —  Baltimore,  Kansas  City  and  Portland,  Oregon.  In 
Baltimore,  Miss  Butler's  investigation  of  1909  showed  that  the 
larger  retail  stores  employed  only  two-thirds  as  many  women 
during  the  dull  season  as  in  busy  times.  In  Kansas  City  over  a 
tenth  of  the  saleswomen  questioned  by  the  Board  of  Public  Wel- 
fare in  1912-13  had  lost  time  from  unemployment  during  the 
previous  year.  In  Portland,  the  report  of  the  Social  Survey 
Committee  in  1912  found  that  only  those  girls  who  had  been  two 
years  or  more  in  the  same  place  could  be  reasonably,  sure  of  keep- 
ing their  positions  after  the  Christmas  rush  was  over,  and  even 
then  some  girls  who  had  been  in  the  same  store  for  several  years 
were  laid  off. 

'SHIFTING 

Necessarily,  then,  on  account  of  the  varying  number  of  sales- 
girls required  at  different  seasons,  some  women  can  remain  in 
their  places  for  only  short  periods.  But  an  intensive  analysis 
of  the  labor  force  made  in  a  single  large  department  store  in 
Boston  reveals  more  clearly  the  actual  situation  in  regard  to  the 
very  small  proportion  of  steady  workers.  (See  Chart  XXV.) 
In  this  investigation  of  all  the  women  earning  $8  a  week  or  less, 
who  were  91.7  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number,  all  specials, 
emergency  and  Christmas  help  were  excluded,  yet  just  about  one- 
half  the  women  remained  in  the  establishment  less  than  three 
months.  Only  about  a  quarter  remained  the  whole  year. 

The  -amount  of  shifting  in  ISTew  York  City  stores  mounts  up  to 
almost  incredible  numbers.  (See  Table  13.)  In  all  the  twelve 
stores  together  for  which  the  number  added  and  left  during  the 
year  could  be  ascertained,  the  number  of  changes  was  greater 
than  the  largest  number  employed  at  any  one  time.  Firm  No.  6 
had  only  5,700  employees  at  the  maximum  and  3,200  at  the  mini- 
mum, yet  10,000  employees  left  during  the  year,  voluntarily  and 


396 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


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Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  397 

involuntarily,  and  12,000  were  taken  on, —  more  than  twice  as 
many  as  the  largest  number  employed.  In  four  of  the  other 
stores,  for  which  these  facts  could  be  ascertained,  Nos.  4,  5,  12 
and  17,  the  number  shifting  through  the  establishment  during 
the  year  was  larger  than  the  greatest  number  at  work  at  any  one 
time.  In  each  of  the  stores,  there  was  a  difference  of  from  35 
per  cent,  to  45  per  cent,  between  the  smallest  and  largest  num- 
ber employed  at  any  one  time.  With  Firm  No.  2,  where  there 
was  only  a  17  per  cent,  difference  in  numbers,  it  is  noticeable 
that  the  flux  of  workers  was  also  lowest  in  proportion  to  the 
total  numbers  employed;  3,600  were  employed  in  the  busiest  sea- 
son, 3,000  in  the  dullest,  and  only  540  left  and  875  new  em- 
ployees were  hired  during  the  year.  Up-state,  a  large  depart- 
ment store  employed  1,777  persons  during  the  year.  Of  this 
number  5.9  per  cent,  remained  less  than  a  single  week.  About  a 
quarter,  25.9  per  cent,  stayed  from  one  to  four  weeks,  and  over 
half,  or  50.2  per  cent,  less  than  three  months.  Only  12.2  per 
cent.,  less  than  an  eighth,  held  their  places  eleven  months  or 
more  out  of  the  year. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  continent,  in  the  state  of  Washington, 
a  survey  made  by  the  Industrial  Welfare  Commission  showed 
that  a  quarter  of  the  1,268  women  employees  in  mercantile  estab- 
lishments who  were  questioned,  had  been  in  their  present  posi- 
tions three  months  or  less. 

While  it  is  difficult  to  get  reliable  evidence  as  to  the  cause  of 
this  great  flux  of  workers  and  how  far  it  is  due  to  conditions 
over  which  they  have  no  control,  yet  the  results  of  a  few  in- 
quiries may  be  noted  here.  The  1911  Massachusetts  'Commis- 
sion on  Minimum  Wage  Boards,  in  investigating  the  trade  his- 
tories of  2,726  salesgirls,  found  that  26  per  cent,  or  over  a 
quarter  of  the  shifts  among  the  1,885  women  who  had  changed 
from  one  place  to  another  were  on  account  of  "  slack  work  or 
none."  A  larger  proportion  of  saleswomen  in  this  industry 
made  changes  for  this  reason  than  workers  in  the  admittedly  ir- 
regular confectionary  industry.  Another  investigation  concern- 
ing the  incomes  and  expenses  of  500  Boston  working  women  was 
made  by  Miss  Louise  Bosworth  in  1907-9.  The  saleswomen  con- 
sidered had  nominally  an  average  yearly  income  of  $382.92. 
But  their  loss  from  slack  work  and  unemployment  —  almost  en- 


398  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

tirely  from  the  latter  —  caused  them  a  loss  of  8  per  cent.,  bring- 
ing their  average  yearly  income  down  to  $356. 

Lastly  we  must  keep  in  mind  the  facts  previously  given  as  to 
the  varying  numbers  employed  at  different  parts  of  the  year. 
Almost  a  quarter  of  the  saleswomen  in  New  York  State,  outside 
the  city  and  over  a  third  in  New  York  City  alone,  could  not 
possibly  keep  one  place  all  the  year  round,  however  much  they 
wished  to.  It  is  not  denied  that  personal  reasons  are  an  im- 
portant factor  in  causing  a  large  proportion  of  the  changes,  but 
the  industry  itself  cannot  evade  entire  responsibility  for  this 
demoralizing  drift,  so  fatal  to  steadiness  and  efficiency.  Retail 
trade  must  stand  convicted,  then,  as  one  more  occupation  which 
has  a  share  in  creating  a  casual  labor  force,  with  all  the  attend- 
ant evils  to  the  human  beings  that  compose  it. 

SPECIAL  PROBLEMS 

A  special  problem  in  connection  with  most  retail  stores  is  pre- 
sented by  the  development  of  a  separate  department  for  making 
up  clothing  for  customers  or  altering  ready-made  garments. 
These  "  alteration  hands  "  sell  no  goods  and  their  work  is  prac- 
tically dress-making.  It  is  not  surprising  therefore,  that  they 
should  suffer  from  irregularity  of  employment  as  dressmakers 
do.  They  are  very  busy  three  months  in  the  spring  and  three 
months  in  the  fall.  For  the  time  between  there  is  almost  nothing 
to  do,  and  the  great  majority  of  these  women  are  discharged  or 
forced  to  take  unpaid  vacations  or  hunt  for  other  work  for  several 
months.  Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  found  in  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut,  by  state  investigating  commissions  in  1911  and 
1913  and  in  Baltimore  through  an  investigation  made  by  Miss 
Butler  in  1909,  where  one-third  of  the  stores  discharged  all  such 
workers  at  the  beginning  of  the  dull  season. 

Another  special  problem  connected  with  irregularity  of  em- 
ployment in  retail  stores  is  that  of  the  "  special "  who  works 
during  the  rush  hours  of  the  day,  or  in  the  evening,  or  on  the 
heavy  days  of  the  week.  How  large  a  proportion  of  the  whole 
selling  force  they  form  is  uncertain,  but  their  use  is  undoubtedly 
increasing.  Estimates  have  been  made  of  8  per  cent,  in  Boston, 
4  per  cent,  in  Baltimore,  and  6  per  cent,  in  Kansas  City.  Natur- 
ally since  these  women  work  only  a  part  of  the  time  they  are  paid 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  399 

only  part  time  wages.  Theoretically,  students,  married  women, 
or  others  whose  chief  duties  are  elsewhere,  get  a  chance  in  this 
way  to  earn  a  little  extra  money,  but  there  seems  to  be  a  good 
deal  of  danger  that  needy  workers  who  cannot  get  anything  else 
will  depend  on  these  positions  for  their  entire  income.  Nor  is 
it  clear  how  this  can  be  avoided. 

A  third  important  point  to  be  remembered  in  connection  with 
retail  stores  is  that  there  is  even  less  chance  in  stores  than  in 
other  lines  that  "  overtime  will  make  up  for  undertime  "  —  or 
unemployment  in  this  instance.  "  There  is  more  after  hour 
work  in  stores  than  the  public  is  aware  of  "  says  the  Massachu- 
setts Commission  on  Minimum  Wage  Boards.  There  are  the 
long  hours  before  Christmas,  for  instance,  and  moreover,  prac- 
tically all  the  caring  for  stock  must  be  done  after  selling  hours. 
Such  overtime  is  almost  never  paid  for.  Some  stores  give  "  sup- 
per money"  -35  cents  is  a  typical  amount  —  when  girls  are 
kept  after  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Sometimes  a  bonus  is 
paid  on  sales  during  December  when  the  hours  are  longest,  but 
that  is  all.  'So  the  girl  in  the  store  who  works  through  the 
Christmas  rush  and  is  then  discharged,  seldom  has  the  slight 
chance  of  her  sister  in  the  factory  to  make  a  little  extra  to  help 
her  through  the  dull  season.  The  great  decrease  in  numbers  also, 
found  everywhere  in  mid-winter  and  during  the  summer,  gives 
a  girl  discharged  by  one  store  very  slight  opportunity  to  find 
work  in  another  or  in  some  different  occupation,  since  these  are 
the  slack  times  for  almost  all  "  women  employing  "  trades. 

SUMMARY 

We  must,  then,  add  retail  stores  to  the  long  list  of  industries 
where  the  workers  suffer  from  seasonal  variations  in  employ- 
ment. It  is  not  those  few  women  who  succeed  in  keeping  their 
places  all  year  who  suffer  materially  from  unemployment  or 
short  time  work  with  reduced  wages,  but  once  more  we  find 
present  in  large  numbers  the  casual  worker  for  whom  the  in- 
dustry does  not  provide  a  place  all  the  year  round.  How  many 
of  such  workers  there  are  is  uncertain.  According  to  the  New 
York  City  figures  they  mount  up  to  two-fifths  of  the  whole  num- 
ber employed.  Certainly  there  are  enough  of  them  to  form  a 
serious  problem  in  establishing  a  real  living  wage. 


LAUNDRIES 


GENERAL,  STATISTICS 

Like  so  many  other  one-time  household  activities,  much  of  the 
washing  of  clothes  has  gone  outside  the  home  into  large  estab- 
lishments with  the  factory  characteristics  of  machinery  and  ex- 
tensive division  of  labor.  According  to  the  latest  census  of  manu- 
factures in  1909,  laundries  gave  employment  to  an  average  num- 
ber of  77,330  women  wage  earners  over  16  in  the  United  States 
—  70.6  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  of  wage  earners  engaged 
in  this  trade.  Since  this  is  the  first  time  figures  for  this  in- 
dustry were  collected,  no  comparisons  with  previous  census 
periods  can  be  made,  but  undoubtedly  the  industry  is  a  growing 
one.  Steam  laundries  are  well  scattered  throughout  the  country, 
furnishing  employment  to  the  largest  numbers,  naturally,  in  the 
states  having  large  percentages  of  urban  population. 

SEASONAL  VARIATIONS 

The  question  whether  any  great  amount  of  involuntary  ir- 
regularity of  employment  exists  in  laundries  and  whether  earn- 
ings are  greatly  reduced  by  industrial  causes  cannot,  it  must  be 
acknowledged,  be  answered  with  any  degree  of  certainty  from 
any  reliable  information  at  present  available. 

A  steam  laundry  is  kept  open  throughout  the  entire  year  and 
there  is  but  slight  variation  in  the  numbers  employed  by  months 
through  the  year.  In  the  whole  United  States  there  was  about 
a  10  per  cent,  increase  in  the  number  of  laundry  workers  dur- 
ing the  months  of  July,  August  and  September,  1909,  when 
more  wash-clothing  is  in  use,  while  the  smallest  numbers  are  em- 
ployed in  January  and  February.  In  the  larger  establishments 
in  urban  centers  where  much  linen  is  washed  for  hotels,  steam- 
ships and  Pullman  cars,  the  work  is  very  steady  from  season  to 
season. 

In  such  laundries  hours  vary  from  day  to  day  according  to  the 
receipts  of  work  to  be  done;  an  unusual  number  of  visitors  in 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  401 

town,  a  convention,  the  arrival  of  several  steamships  will  cause 
the  working  of  overtime,  while  in  any  kind  of  steam  laundry 
hours  are  likely  to  be  irregular  from  day  to  day  over  a  weekly 
period.  The  average  laundry  employee  begins  late  on  Monday 
morning,  because  the  work  cannot  be  collected  and  sorted  before 
that  time.  She  is  likely  to  work  till  late  Friday  evening  and 
not  at  all  or  only  a  few  hours  on  Saturday  since  the  custom  is 
to  get  each  week's  work  out  of  the  way  by  Saturday  night.  For 
the  same  reason  overtime  is  almost  always  worked  the  evening 
before  a  holiday.  The  weekly  total  of  hours  is  not  likely  to 
be  high  but  there  are  one  or  two  long  days  every  week. 

•STATISTICS  OF  IEREGULAB  EMPLOYMENT 
Steady  workers  in  laundries  undoubtedly  suffer  very  little 
from  the  lack  of  employment.  The  Massachusetts  Commis^ 
sion  of  1911  questioned  on  this  point  593  workers  remaining  the 
whole  year  with  the  same  firm  and  1,049  "  part  of  the  year 
workers  "  who  stayed  in  the  same  place  an  average  period  of  36 
weeks.  Of  the  former  only  1.5  per  cent,  lost  time  from  "  en- 
forced idleness,"  being  out  but  4  days  each,  on  the  average,  from 
this  cause.  Only  1.8  per  cent,  of  the  latter  lost  time  in  this  way, 
though  these  few  lost  a  considerable  amount,  an  average  of  30.6 
days  each  or  14.1  per  cent,  of  their  whole  period  of  employment. 
It  is  the  same  state  of  affairs  as  was  found  among  the  "  steady  " 
group  of  salesgirls.  The  same  investigation  compares  the  aver- 
age weekly  earnings  of  539  "  annual  workers "  for  the  weeks 
they  had  work  with  1/52  of  their  annual  earnings.  The  differ- 
ence between  the  two  is  very  small,  only  18  cents  a  week,  amount- 
ing to  21/2  per  cent,  of  their  annual  earnings.  Absence  for  per- 
sonal reasons  might  readily  account  for  all  of  this.  In  candy 
factories  for  instance  the  weekly  loss  computed  on  the  same  basis, 
was  10  per  cent. 

SHIFTING 

But  it  is  a  very  small  portion  of  the  women  in  laundries  who 
are  such  steady  workers.  For  the  most  part  the  labor  force  is  of 
a  particularly  shifting  character. 

The  testimony  of  employers  before  the  Washington  Minimum 
Wage  Commission  in  1913  makes  this  very  clear.  The  proprietor 


402  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

of  a  laundry  in  Tacoma  said  "  60  to  90  days  eliminates  a  crew  com- 
pletely. Some  of  the  girls  work  but  a  few  days."  Another  from 
Spokane  admitted  that  "  75  per  cent,  of  the  women  coming  to 
his  plant  did  not  stick."  A  third  said  that  he  developed  one  com- 
petent laundress  out  of  every  ten  who  start  in.  On  the  other  side 
of  the  continent,  in  Massachusetts,  the  same  conditions  prevail. 
In  1911  the  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage  Boards  found  that 
in  one  laundry,  57  per  cent,  of  the  workers  remained  less  than 
three  months.  In  another  76  per  cent,  had  left  by  the  end  of 
that  time  (see  Chart  XXVI).  Only  19  per  cent,  in  the  former 
and  7  per  cent,  in  the  latter  were  permanent  "  annual "  workers. 
In  1914  the  Massachusetts  Minimum  Wage  Commission  again 
studied  the  length  of  time  that  nearly  3,000  women  workers  had 
stayed  in  the  same  establishment.  Not  quite  one-half  remained 
four  months  or  less.  There  were  however  great  differences  be- 
tween the  36  laundries  studied.  In  two  laundries,  30  per  cent, 
of  the  women  kept  their  places  the  whole  year  while  in  four  others 
only  2  per  cent,  did  so.  Between  the  various  occupations  the  dif- 
ferences are  likewise  marked.  Workers  are  least  permanent  in  the 
least  skilled,  lowest  paid  lines  of  work.  For  instance,  a  woman  is 
likely  to  become  "shaker"  when  she  first  enters  a  laundry.  All  day 
long  she  shakes  out  the  wet  linen  which  has  been  packed  into  solid 
masses  by  the  whirl  of  the  washing  machines.  Only  3  per  cent,  of 
these  workers  remained  the  whole  year,  whereas  22  per  cent,  of  the 
hand  washers  did  so,  and  23  per  cent,  of  the  "  bosom  pressers," 
who  iron  the  bosoms  of  men's  stiff  shirts,  an  operation  requiring 
much  skill.  Now  the  question  is,  what  is  the  cause  of  this  flux  of 
workers  ?  Is  it  the  nature  of  the  work,  exhausting  yet  little  skilled, 
carried  on  mostly  in  the  midst  of  heat  and  steam  and  for  low 
wages  ?  Or  is  some  portion  of  the  shifting  due  to  slack  work  and 
therefore  involuntary  on  the  part  of  the  workers  ?  It  is  difficult 
to  answer  these  questions  with  the  information  thus  far  available 
about  the  industry.  The  Massachusetts  Minimum  Wage  Commis- 
sion, which  has  made  the  most  recent  and  most  searching  investi- 
gation of  the  laundry  industry,  says  that  "  the  material  which 
could  be  obtained  *  *  *  was  not  a  matter  of  record  and  appeared 
highly  unreliable." 

Evidence  as  to  the  partial  responsibility  of  the  industry  for 


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this  flux  of  workers  was  found  by  the  Massachusetts  Commission 
on  Minimum  Wage  Boards  in  1911  when  it  questioned  1,045 
women  laundry  workers,  as  to  their  reasons  for  changing  posi- 
tions. Twenty-one  per  cent,  had  always  been  in  the  same  place, 
but  21  per  cent,  of  the  changes  made  by  those  who  had  shifted 
were  on  account  of  "  slack  work  or  none."  This  percentage  is 
just  about  as  large  as  the  proportion  changing  for  the  same  reason 
in  the  admittedly  irregular  confectionery  industry.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  Milwaukee,  in  the  years  1911—12,  a  federal  in- 
vestigation of  women  workers  in  power  laundries  disclosed  the 
fact  that  "  the  fluctuations  of  trade  do  not  cause  an  average  loss 
of  more  than  one  month  in  twelve."1  This  is  not  great  as  indus- 
tries go. 

The  strongest  proof  of  the  personal  causes  behind  the  shifting, 
however,  is  found  in  this  same  1914  report  of  the  Massachusetts 
Minimum  Wage  Commission  on  wages  of  women  in  laundries. 
They  found  the  percentage  of  the  total  number  of  employees 
studied  who  were  out  of  work  each  week  during  the  year.  This 
percentage  varied  very  little  throughout  the  whole  period,  and 
showed  therefore  nearly  the  same  number  entering  and  leaving 
positions  each  week.  Hence  the  Commission,  believes  that  "  in- 
dustrial causes  proper  play  but  a  small  part  in  the  fluctuation  of 
employment "  and,  weighing  all  the  evidence,  this  seems  to  be  the 
only  conclusion  to  draw  as  to  the  situation. 

VARIATION  IN  EARNINGS 

There  appears  to  be,  therefore,  little  forced  unemployment 
among  laundry  workers,  only  slight  variation  in  the  numbers 
employed  at  different  seasons,  and  but  little  closing  for  entire 
days.  Morever,  most  laundry  workers  are  paid  a  flat  rate  often 
with  overtime  pay  for  the  extra  hours  of  the  long  day.  It  might 
then  be  thought  that  weekly  earnings  would  equal  weekly  rates  of 
pay,  or  even  rise  above  them.  But  this  is  seldom  the  case.  The 
1914  investigation  of  the  Massachusetts  Minimum  Wage  Commis- 
sion showed  that  as  in  so  many  other  industries,  weekly  rates 
rose  above  weekly  earnings.  Twenty-nine  and  six  tenths  per  cent. 

i  Department  of  Labor,  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  Bulletin  No.  122,  p.  79. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  405 

of  the  3,000  women  employees  covered  by  the  investigation  were 
scheduled  at  less  than  $6  a  week.  In  reality  over  half,  51.5  per 
cent,  received  less  than  that  sum.  In  addition  only  half  as  many 
really  received  the  larger  weekly  earnings  as  were  rated  at  these 
sums;  16  per  cent,  had  weekly  rates  of  $9  and  over,  but  only  8.2 
per  cent,  actually  averaged  this  amount.  (See  Chart  XXVII.) 
Short  time  and  not  entire  days'  or  weeks'  absence  is  the  cause  of 
most  of  this  discrepancy  between  rates  and  earnings  according  to 
a  table  correlating  average  weekly  hours  and  earnings  in  this 
same  investigation.  There  is,  therefore,  a  considerable  amount 
of  short-time  and  this  holds  true  not  only  in  Massachusetts  but 
in  other  localities  as  well.  In  Washington,  19.4  per  cent,  of  the 
laundry  workers  studied  by  the  Industrial  Welfare  'Commission 
worked  40  hours  or  less  weekly,  and  19.3  per  cent,  worked  less  than 
5  days  a  week.  In  Massachusetts  in  the  seven  laundries  where 
records  of  weekly  hours  were  kept,  9.1  per  cent,  of  the  women 
worked  less  than  40  hours  a  week  and  14.4  per  cent,  more  worked 
less  than  46  hours. 

Short  time  exists,  then,  in  laundries  just  as  in  so  many  other 
industries  and  time  wages  fall  off  as  do  the  hours  worked. 
Women  in  laundries,  like  so  many  other  workers  are  paid  almost 
"  by  the  minute."  The  earlier  Massachusetts  investigation,  in 
1911,  noted  a  "  tendency  to  pay  the  worker  only  for  the  hours 
during  which  she  was  employed,"  thus  "  paring  down  the  labor 
cost  at  the  expense  of  labor."  This  meant  only  small  losses  day  by 
day,  a  half  hour  here  and  an  hour  there.  But  such  small  intervals 
cannot  be  made  up  with  other  work  and  the  loss  runs  up  to  a 
considerable  sum  in  the  course  of  a  year.  On  the  other  hand  many 
employers  insist  that  most  of  the  short  time  is  due  to  the  personal 
preference  of  the  employees.  The  later  1914  Massachusetts  in- 
vestigation finds  this  difference  of  opinion  and  is  obliged  to  leave 
the  point  open.  "  What  amount  of  this  loss  "  (in  earnings  cord- 
pared  with  rates)  "  is  due  to  compulsory  short  time  and  what  to 
the  preference  of  the  employee  is  a  matter  about  which  the  Com- 
mission was  not  furnished  material  with  which  to  form  an  im- 
partial judgment."  But  one  thing  is  certain,  rates  and  earnings 
are  far  from  identical.  A  minimum  wage  rate  would  not  mean  an 
adequate  income  to  many  laundry  workers. 


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Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  407 

SUMMARY 

Except  in  the  larger  and  more  modern  establishments,  much  of 
the  work  in  laundries  is  extremely  disagreeable,  carried  on  in 
rooms  filled  with  heat,  steam  and  moisture,  and  under  conditions 
involving  considerable  physical  exertion  for  extended  periods  of 
time  —  all  of  which  is  apt  to  cause  the  more  inexperienced  worker 
great  fatigue  or  even  illness.  Wages,  except  for  the  older,  steady 
workers  are  low.  It  can  scarcely  be  a  matter  of  surprise  therefore 
that  the  amount  of  shifting  in  laundries  is  very  great,  although 
fairly  steady  employment  seems  to  be  offered.  This  situation 
presents  a  peculiar  problem  for  minimum  wage  boards.  If  it  is 
the  intention  really  to  provide  a  living  wage,  should  not  a  higher 
rate  be  allowed  for  this  industry  where  the  physical  exposure  of 
the  worker  is  so  much  greater?  Any  employer  who  objects  to 
this  higher  rate  has,  of  course,  the  option  of  bettering  the  con- 
ditions of  work  by  removing  the  causes  of  excessive  physical  strain 
and  unhealthful  conditions.  In  this  way  he  will  take  away  the 
objections  of  many  employees  to  his  work  and  will  secure  for  him- 
self a  more  steady  and  reliable  set  of  workers. 


CANNING  AND  PRESERVING 


The  canning  of  fruits,  vegetables,  and  fish  is  #  prosperous  and 
growing  industry  in  the  United  States.  Few  industries  exhibit 
a  greater  seasonal  variation  in  the  numbers  employed  month  by 
month  during  the  year.  According  to  the  latest  United  States 
Census  of  Manufactures  taken  in  1909,  the  maximum  number 
of  wage  earners,  154,800,  was  employed  on  September  15th. 
The  minimum  number,  19,998,  employed  on  January  15th  was 
only  12.9  per  cent  of  the  maximum  number.  Moreover,  very 
nearly  half  of  the  whole  number  of  wage  earners  were  women 
sixteen  and  over.  The  number  of  women  at  work  on  a  "  repre- 
sentative day  "  in  1909  was  77,593,  49.8  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
number  of  wage  earners.  The  industry  is,  therefore,  one 
characterized  by  extreme  seasonal  variation  and  providing  employ- 
ment for  large  numbers  of  women  workers  for  short  periods  of 
time. 

Two  types  of  canneries  must  be  distinguished.  One  is- 
generally  found  in  large  cities.  It  uses  not  only  a  variety  of  fresh 
fruits  and  vegetables  drawn  from  a  considerable  territory,  but 
also  it  may  prepare  baked  beans,  pickles,  various  ketchups  and 
sauces,  plum  puddings,  and  so  on.  In  that  case  such  an  establish- 
ment may .  run  the  whole  year  round,  though  its  work  will  be 
much  heavier  in  the  late  summer  and  early  fall  than  at  other 
seasons.  Under  these  conditions,  the  problem  of  irregularity  is 
chiefly  one  of  reducing  excessive  hours  of  overtime  for  the  women 
workers  during  the  busy  season  through  the  legal  regulation  of 
their  hours  of  labor. 

The  other  type  of  cannery  is  generally  found  in  small  towns 
or  in  the  open  country,  and  puts  up  one  or  a  few  kinds  of  fruit 
and  vegetables  raised  nearby.  It  is  open  only  a  few  weeks  in  the 
late  summer  or  early  fall,  the  period  lengthening  out  if  several 
different  kinds  of  products  are  used.  The  working  force  may  be 
whole  families,  largely  foreigners,  who  have  come  out  from  the 
cities  for  the  season ;  or  it  may  be  the  people  of  the  neighborhood, 
including  many  married  women,  school  girls  and  children  who 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  409 

are  not  regular  wage  earners,  or  it  may  be  any  mixture  of  these 
two  classes.  Thus  apart  from  the  usual  currents  of  industrial  life 
many  serious  abuses  may  flourish,  such  as  the  work  of  young 
children,  bad  sanitary  conditions  and  over-crowding  and  in- 
credibly long  hours  with  frequent  night- work.  It  is  to  child 
labor  laws,  the  sanitary  regulation  of  labor  camps,  and  laws 
regulating  women's  hours  of  labor  that  we  must  look  for  the  cor- 
rection of  these  evils. 

The  adjustment  of  a  minimum  wage  rate  in  such  canning  fac- 
tories should  require,  therefore,  not  so  much  an  allowance  for  the 
reduction  in  earnings  from  short  time  and  unemployment,  but 
a  consideration  of  a  fair  wage  level  for  an  industry  that  runs  only 
a  part  of  the  year,  during  which  time  a  certain  number  of  hours' 
work  may  reasonably  be  expected.  In  Australia,  similar  work 
is  thought  of  as  an  "  expedition  "  and  the  wage  is  calculated  on 
the  basis  of  a  fair  return  for  unskilled  labor  for  the  trip  as  a 
whole,  making  allowance  for  "  the  short  periods  of  employment, 
the  expenditure  of  money  and  of  time  in  getting  to  the  work,  the 
broken  time  of  the  employees,  the  fact  that  they  are  paid  by  the 
hours  of  actual  work."1  These  conditions  are  identical  with  the 
conditions  of  employment  in  this  second  type  of  cannery  in  the 
United  States,  where  the  problem  has  not  been  taken  up.  Yet 
in  New  York  where  these  "  country  canneries  "  are  of  great  im- 
portance, it  would  be  an  important  and  difficult  question  for  any 
Minimum  Wage  Board. 


Reports  of  the  Commonwealth  Arbitration  Court  of  Australia,  Vol.  6,  p.  81. 


MISCELLANEOUS 


The  industries  already  described  by  no  means  exhaust  the  list 
of  those  in  which  women  workers  suffer  from  irregular  employ- 
ment. So  little  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  special  problem  of 
irregular  and  casual  labor  for  women  in  the  United  States  that 
it  is  impossible  to  get  hold  of  its  entire  extent.  Scattering  bits 
of  evidence,  however,  indicate  that  the  following  industries  give 
rise  to  considerable  irregularity  of  work  with  the  resulting  loss 
of  earnings.  The  list  is  admittedly  incomplete,  but  may  serve 
to  emphasize  further  the  seriousness  of  the  problem.  Separately 
each  one  is  not  of  relatively  great  importance  as  an  employer  of 
women,  but  altogether  in  the  ones  for  which  separate  figures  can 
be  obtained,  over  20,000  adult  women  wage  earners  are  found. 
This  number  does  not  include  "  dyeing  and  cleaning,"  "  tin 
cans  "  and  "  leaf  tobacco "  treated  below,  since  the  number  of 
wage  earners  is  not  given  separately  in  the  census  for  those  occu- 
pational groups. 

AWNINGS 

The  busy  season  in  this  industry  is  at  most  April,  May,  June 
and  July.  "  With  the  first  warm  days,  all  the  customers  order 
at  once."1  In  Pittsburgh  in  1907  it  was  found  that  during  the 
rest  of  the  year  only  a  quarter  or  half  of  the  force  was  kept  on 
hand.  The  same  state  of  affairs  existed  in  Kansas  City  in 
1912-13,  according  to  the  Board  of  Public  Welfare.  In  Massa- 
chusetts in  1912,  also,  work  was  only  good  for  these  same  four 
months.  According  to  the  Statistics  of  Manufacture  for  that 
year,  the  largest  number  were  employed  in  June,  nearly  as  many 
in  April,  May,  and  July,  and  only  55  per  cent,  to  65  per  cent,  of 
the  maximum  during  the  rest  of  the  year.  Evidently  a  large  pro- 
portion of  these  women  must  get  their  living  through  some  other 
sort  of  work  for  eight  months  a  year  or  remain  unemployed. 
Nor  do  steady  workers  entirely  escape  these  effects  of  seasonal 
irregularity.  The  Massachusetts  establishments  were  entirely 

i"  Women  and  the  Trades,"  by    Elizabeth  B.  Butler,  p.  151. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage          411 

closed  an  average  of  thirty  working  days  during  1912,  therefore 
reducing  the  time  and  earnings  of  the  steady  workers  10  per  cent, 
in  this  way  alone. 

BUTTONS 

Probably  on  account  of  its  connection  with  the  various  gar- 
ment trades  the  manufacture  of  buttons  fluctuates  as  do  the 
garment  trades  in  regard  to  the  number  of  women  employed. 
There  is  a  slight  rise  of  numbers  in  the  spring,  a  very  low  drop 
during  the  summer,  the  climb  to  the  highest  point  in  the  late 
fall,  and  a  decline  after  Christmas.  In  Massachusetts  only  80 
per  cent,  of  the  women  in  1912  could  keep  their  places  the  year 
round.  In  New  Jersey  the  manufacture  of  pearl  buttons,  which 
is  not  especially  seasonal,  is  classified  separately  from  that  of 
metal  buttons.  In  the  latter  in  1912  there  were  places  for  only 
55  per  cent,  of  the  women  employees  for  the  entire  twelve  months, 
while  curiously  enough,  the  number  of  men  employees,  who  com- 
pose about  half  of  all  wage  earners,  varied  but  little  at  different 
parts  of  the  year.  In  New  York  City  in  1913,  the  State  Factory 
Investigating  Commission  found  that  in  the  manufacture  of 
covered  and  celluloid  buttons,  four  large  establishments  em- 
ployed a  maximum  of  360  and  a  minimum  of  178  workers  or 
only  49.8  per  cent,  of  the  largest  number.  The  Commission 
states  that  while  the  best  workers  have  almost  continuous  em- 
ployment, the  average  button-maker  works  only  six  or  eight 
months  a  year. 

The  steady  workers,  too,  lost  considerable  time  during  the 
year,  since  in  1912,  in  both  Massachusetts  and  New  Jersey,  the 
factories  even  according  to  the  inadequate  figures  on  "  average 
number  of  days  in  operation  yearly  "  were  entirely  closed  two 
weeks  out  of  the  year.  Undoubtedly  in  addition  to  this  loss  they 
suffered  from  short  time  and  an  additional  reduction  in  earnings, 
for  these  conditions  have  been  found  to  go  together  wherever  more 
extended  investigations  have  been  made.  Such  a  situation  is 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  in  New  York  City  in  1913,  the  State 
Factory  Investigating  Commission  found  that  half  the  women 
workers  were  rated  at  $7.50  or  more  weekly,  but  that  in  the 


412  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

selected  week  in  which  their  wages  were  studied,  over  half  re- 
ceived less  than  $7. 

In  addition,  the  figures  available  show  fluctuations  in  the  in- 
dustry from  year  to  year,  probably  due  to  the  greater  or  lesser 
use  of  buttons  as  dress  trimmings.  In  1910  in  Massachusetts 
there  was  considerably  more  irregularity  than  in  1912,  since  in 
the  former  year  the  minimum  number  of  women  employees  was 
only  60  per  cent,  of  the  largest  number,  instead  of  the  80  per 
cent  of  the  latter  year,  and  the  establishments  were  closed  an 
average  of  49  working  days  during  1910,  which  meant  a  loss 
of  no  less  than  eight  weeks  to  the  steady  workers.  In  New 
Jersey  in  the  same  year,  the  average  length  of  time  entirely  lost 
by  each  establishment  was  nearly  four  weeks.  The  number  of 
women  employees  remained  comparatively  even  during  the  year, 
but  the  largest  number  was  about  the  same  as  the  smallest  num- 
ber in  1912,  indicating  a  stagnant  condition  in  the  industry  at 
that  time. 

BRUSHES 

In  Massachusetts  in  1913,  perhaps  on  account  of  the  competi- 
tion of  prison  labor,  the  State  Minimum  Wage  Commission  found 
brush  making  to  be  a  "  stagnant  trade "  in  which  short  time 
weekly  was  the  rule.  Out  of  489  workers  for  whom  data  as  to 
average  weekly  hours  were  available,  27.1  per  cent,  worked  an 
average  of  less  than  42  hours  weekly,  and  54.8  per  cent. —  over 
half  —  worked  less  than  46  hours  weekly.  Only  13  women  worked 
50  hours  a  week  or  more.  Though  some  of  the  manufacturers 
claimed  that  this  working  of  short  time  and  consequent  reduction 
of  wages  was  voluntary  on  the  part  of  the  employees,  since  this 
condition  existed  among  time  workers  as  well  as  among  piece 
workers,  the  Commission  felt  that  it  indicated  lack  of  work. 

The  Commission  found,  however,  that  no  great  seasonal  varia- 
tions existed.  Nearly  the  same  number  of  the  steady  workers 
were  unemployed  each  week  in  the  year,  except  for  short  periods 
in  June  and  August,  and  the  Commission  thought  that  the  in- 
creased number  of  absences  in  these  times  might  easily  be  ac- 
counted for  by  vacations.  In  Pittsburgh,  on  the  contrary,  in  1907, 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage          413 

marked  seasonal  irregularity  in  the  trade  was  discovered.1  No 
obvious  reason  appears  why  brushes  are  not  just  as  much  needed 
at  one  season  as  at  another,  yet  in  Pittsburgh  there  was  a  markedly 
busy  season  with  overtime  from  April  to  August  and  a  very  slack 
period  from  August  through  the  fall. 

DYEING  AND  CLEANING 

In  Pittsburgh  in  dyeing  and  cleaning  shops  it  was  discovered2 
that  overtime  work  occurred  three  to  five  nights  weekly  from 
March  to  May.  Then  during  the  summer  when  well  to  do  people 
are  out  of  town  and  more  wash  clothes  are  worn,  there  was  a 
slack  season  during  which  the  majority  of  the  women  employees 
were  dismissed. 

GLASS 

The  majority  of  the  women  in  glass  factories  are  employed  in 
the  decorating,  finishing  and  packing  departments  of  plants  that 
manufacture  fancy  glassware.  A  federal  investigation3  made  in 
1907-8,  states  that  a  third  (31  per  cent.)  of  all  the  women  wage 
earners  worked  overtime  during  the  fall  months  of  the  year  in- 
vestigated. They  worked  one,  two  or  three  hours  several  evenings 
a  week,  the  time  mounting  up  to  an  average  of  thirteen  working 
days  for  each  one  doing  this  overtime  work.  Then  in  the  sum- 
mer almost  every  factory  was  shut  down  through  July  and 
August.  In  this  way  all  the  women  would  have  their  annual 
wages  reduced  by  a  sixth  while  only  a  third  had  a  chance  to  gain 
anything  by  overtime.  This  fact  in  itself  tends  to  discredit  the 
wage-rate  as  a  measurement  of  earnings  for  the  80  per  cent,  who 
are  time  workers.  Other  figures  emphasize  the  same  fact.  First 
a  "  normal  week  "  was  selected  and  the  number  of  days  worked 
by  each  woman  in  the  finishing  department  was  found.  Half 
did  not  work  full  time.  Then  their  computed  weekly  full-time 
earnings  and  actual  earnings  were  compared;  8  per  cent,  were 
supposed  to  earn  less  than  $4  a  week,  but  in  reality  33  per  cent, 
actually  received  that  sum.  In  each  wage  group  above  $4,  fewer 
women  were  found  than  were  nominally  at  that  rate. 


1  "  Women  and  the  Trades,"  by  Elizabeth  B.  Butler,  p.  255. 

2  Ibid,  p.  205. 

*  Woman  and  Child  Wage  Earners,  Vol.  HI. 


4:14 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


TABLE  14 
GLASS  —  SELECTED  FACTORIES,  1907-8 

(From  Woman  and  Child  Wage  Earners,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  404  and  405) 

A.  NUMBEBS  AND  PERCENTAGES  WORKING  DIFFERENT  NUMBERS  OF  DATS  WEEKLY  IN  A  "  NORMAL 

WEEK  " —  WOMEN  16  AND  OVER 


DAYS  WORKED 

Number 

Per  cent. 

Full  time,  6  days   ...    . 

1  386 

50  0 

6-6  days  

627 

22  6 

4—5  days  

358 

12  9 

3-4  days  

239 

8  6 

Less  than  3  days  

164 

5.9 

Total  

2,774 

100.0 

B.  FULL  TIME  AND  ACTUAL  WEEKLY  EARNINGS  IN  A  "NORMAL  WEEK" — ALL  FEMALES 


Under 
$2 

$2- 

$2.99 

$3- 

3.99 

228 

$4- 

4.99 

$5- 

5.99 

$6- 
6.99 

$7- 
7.99 

$8- 
8.99 

$9- 
9.99 

$10- 
11.99 

$12- 
13.99 

$14- 
and 
over 

Total 

Number  earning 
given  amounts 

Computed  full 
time  earnings 

1 

852 

-'-U 
.693 

559 

196 

96 

66 

76 
54 

'    42 

20 

11 

2,774 

Actual  earnings 

120 

218 

462 

767 
30.7 

545 

25.0 
19.6 

346 
20.2 

144 
7.1 

32 

T 

14 

6 

2,774 

Percent,  earning 
given  amounts. 

Computed  full 
time  earnings 

(') 

8.2 

3.5 

2.7 

0.7 

0.4 

100.0 

Actual  earnings 

4.3 

7.9 

16.7 

27.6 

12.5 

5.2 

2.4 

l.fl 

1.2 

0.5 

0.2 

100.0 

i  Less  than  1/10  of  1  %. 

PAINT 

A  few  women  are  employed,  not  in  the  making  of  paint  itself, 
but  in  labeling  cans.  It  is  low  grade,  totally  unskilled  work  and 
the  employees  are  of  a  shifting  character.  They  are  busy  through 
February,  March  and  April,  and  again  in  September  and  October. 
Between  times  "half  the  force  is  dismissed  when  the  spring  and 
fall  seasons  of  house  repairing  are  over."1 

PAPER  BAGS 

In  Kansas  City  it  was  reported  by  the  Board  of  Public  Wel- 
fare in  1912  that  while  the  factories  making  paper  bags  are  busy 
during  the  summer  and  fall,  work  is  slack  for  the  first  five  months 
of  the  year.  The  number  of  women  was  decreased  by  a  fifth  dur- 
ing this  dull  season,  and  those  left  at  work  had  their  earnings 
reduced  on  account  of  short  time. 

TANNERIES 

The  women  who  work  in  tanneries  suffer  from  both  short  time 
and  lack  of  work.  In  Massachusetts,  during  the  first  seven  months 
of  1912  their  numbers  were  a  quarter  less  than  in  the  latter  part 

i"  Women  and  the  Trades,"  by  Elizabeth  B.  Butler,  p.  268. 


Irregular  Employment  and  the  Living  Wage  415 

of  the  year.  An  investigation  of  women  workers  in  Milwaukee 
tanneries  in  1908,1  showed  that  for  them  "undertime  was  the 
great  factor  in  reducing  wages."  For  example,  in  one  factory 
68  women  were  employed  during  one  fortnightly  pay  period,  but 
only  16  of  them  worked  full  time  and  their  average  working 
hours  were  119  instead  of  130.  The  amount  of  work  done  in 
the  two  weeks  would  have  provided  63  instead  of  68  women  with 
full-time  employment.  Again  66  girls  were  at  work  through  a 
ten-day  pay-period.  Only  17  worked  full  time,  and  their  aver- 
age actual  working  hours  for  the  ten  days  were  88.  The  full 
time  hours  were  100.  Fifty-nine  women,  all  on  full  time,  could 
have  done  the  work.  A  multitude  of  similar  cases  established 
the  general  conclusion. 

TIN  CANS 

The  manufacture  of  tin  cans  resembles  that  of  paper  boxes  in 
that  the  cans  are  of  little  value  in  proportion  to  their  bulk  and 
are  difficult  to  store.  They  are  therefore  usually  made  just  as 
orders  come  in.  Plants  doing  a  general  business  are  thus  fairly 
steady,  but  those  working  for  any  seasonal  industry  are  them- 
selves highly  seasonal.  An  example  of  the  latter  is  one  plant  in 
a  state  prominent  in  fruit  and  vegetable  canning  which  works  for 
a  canning  factory.2  Statistics  show  that  for  this  establishment, 
from  the  middle  of  April  till  after  the  end  of  September,  a  force 
of  1,200  men,  women  and  children  are  hard  at  work,  often  with 
overtime.  Then  the  business 'drops  down  to  practically  nothing, 
and  all  the  workers  except  perhaps  100  are  discharged. 

TOBACCO 

Most  work  connected  with  the  manufacture  of  tobacco  is  fairly 
steady.  But  in  one  line,  the  preparation  of  leaf  tobacco  for  cigar 
manufacturers  in  warehouse  factories  in  the  South  "  the  work 
begins  in  January  and  lasts  for  only  about  four  months."3  Thus 
the  women  employed,  (whose  number  cannot  be  determined  since 
in  all  the  statistics  this  process  is  included  with  others)  must 
find  work  somewhere  else  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year. 

1  "  Women   Workers  in  Milwaukee  Tanneries,"  by  Irene  Osgood,   p.   1059. 
Part  VII  of  the  Report  of  the  Wisconsin  Bureau  of  Labor  &  Industrial  Statis- 
tics, 1907-8. 

2  Woman  and  Child  Wage  Earners,  Vol.  XVIII,  p.  57. 
s  Ibid,  p.  308. 


416 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


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IV 

PREVENTION  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT 


Presiding  Officer:    HENRY  BRUERE 

Chamberlain 
NEW  YORK  CITY 


OPENING  ADDRESS 


GEORGE  W.  NORRIS 
Director  of  Wharves,  Docks,  and  Ferries,  City  of  Philadelphia 


I  am  here  primarily  this  evening  to  present  the  apologies  and 
regrets  of  Mayor  Blankenburg  that  he  is  confined  to  his  house 
and  is  compelled  to  forego  the  pleasure  he  had  anticipated  of  being 
here  this  evening  and  participating  in  this  meeting. 

The  subject  of  unemployment  is,  of  course,  one  of  tremendous 
importance,  when  we  realize  that  the  vast  majority  of  our  people, 
particularly  here  in  this  industrial  section  of  the  east,  are  wage- 
earners,  and  it  requires  no  art  to  prove  that  regularity  of  employ- 
ment is  one  of  the  things  most  essential  to  prosperity  and  success, 
and  even  to  the  safety  and  life  of  the  community. 

I  am  extremely  glad  to  see  that  the  particular  question  that  you 
are  going  to  discuss  this  evening  is  not  the  whole  general  subject 
of  unemployment,  but  particularly  the  prevention  of  unemploy- 
ment, because  that  particular  branch  of  the  subject  is  in  line  with 
the  whole  of  the  best  thought  and  effort  of  the  present  day  along 
various  lines.  We  have  in  all  lines  of  effort  gotten  beyond  the 
mere  matter  of  palliation,  and  we  are  getting  down  to  roots  and 
causes  and  removing  the  cause  which  produces  the  bad  results. 

On  this  question  of  the  prevention  of  unemployment  there  are 
two  things  that  I  want  to  mention.  First,  it  seems  to  me  that  the 
community  is  to  be  protected  from  the  refusal  of  the  worker  to  work 
in  good  times,  and  from  the  refusal  of  the  employer  to  employ  in 
dull  times.  But  it  seems  to  me  those  rights  and  obligations  are 
reciprocal.  The  conditions  in  most  of  our  large  cities  to-day  are 
acute.  I  have  heard  manufacturers  say  privately :  "Why  should 
we  greatly  concern  ourselves  about  the  present  unemployment? 
Why  should  we  lie  awake  at  nights  and  exert  ourselves  to  find  work 
for  men  who  are  temporarily  out  of  work — what  will  their  attitude 
be  when  work  becomes  plentiful  and  we  are  looking  for  workers? 
If  we  exert  ourselves  to  find  work  for  them  now  while  they  want 


422  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

work,  will  they,  when  work  becomes  active,  exert  themselves  to 
do  more  work,  or  better  work  for  us?  No!  They  will,  on  the 
contrary,  when  those  conditions  arise,  want  to  do  less  work  and  be 
paid  higher  wages  for  doing  it." 

That  is  the  point  of  view  of  certain  employers.  You  may  say 
it  is  a  narrow,  or  a  brutal  point  of  view,  but  it  is  a  point  of  view, 
nevertheless,  and  has  to  be  taken  into  consideration.  Therefore  I 
say  that  in  all  the  deliberations  and  discussions  on  this  subject  of 
unemployment  and  its  prevention  the  rights  and  the  duties  of  both 
employer  and  employed  should  always  be  fairly  and  fully  con- 
sidered. 

Second,  I  have  heard  it  stated  that  one  of  the  reasons  why  Ger- 
many has  been  able  to  continue,  with  as  much  success  at  it  has, 
the  industrial  life  of  the  nation  during  the  present  tremendous 
struggle  in  which  it  is  now  engaged,  is  because  the  German  gov- 
ernment had  practically  a  card  catalogue  of  all  the  workers  in 
Germany.  It  knew  not  only  how  many  men  would  be  taken  out 
of  productive  industry  for  war  purposes,  but  it  knew  exactly  what 
trades  these  men  would  be  taken  out  of  and  how  many  out  of  each 
trade.  It  knew  also  which  trades  would  be  paralyzed,  which  would 
be  crippled,  and  which  would  be  stimulated  by  the  war;  and  there- 
fore the  moment  the  call  had  gone  forth  for  millions  of  men  to  go 
to  the  front  there  was  an  immediate  readjustment  of  workers  in 
all  industries.  In  other  words,  the  industrial  army  of  Germany 
was  mobilized  with  the  same  promptness  and  with  the  same  pre- 
cision that  attended  the  mobilization  of  its  military  army. 

Now  of  course  that,  if  it  be  a  fact,  is  the  product  of  a  very  highly 
organized  and  centralized  government  or  state  of  society,  and 
whether  we  can  ever  attain  to  that  here,  or  whether  it  is  desirable 
that  we  should,  I  do  not  know.  But  manifestly,  between  that  per- 
fection of  detail  and  the  absurd  lack  of  anything  approaching  that 
information  or  organization  in  this  country,  there  is  a  wide  margin 
and  an  opportunity  for  great  improvement  on  our  part.  It  seems 
to  me  perfectly  clear  that  there  should  be  in  this  country  a  very 
much  better  knowledge  of  industrial  conditions  than  now  prevails, 
and  that  there  should  be  better  facilities  for  the  transfer  of  workers 
from  one  trade  to  another  or  from  one  locality  to  another. 


WHAT  THE  AWAKENED   EMPLOYER  IS  THINKING  ON 
UNEMPLOYMENT 


RORERT  G.  VALENTINE 
Industrial   Counselor,  Boston,   Mass. 


What  I  want  to  make  clear  to  you — not  to  prove,  but  to  make 
clear,  so  that  it  will  be  fair  mark  for  vigorous  discussion — is  the 
proposition  which  awakened  employers  are  thinking  about,  that, 
in  these  very  days  in  which  we  live,  the  business  world,  and  the 
labor  world,  and  the  consumer's  world,  are  distinctly  faced  with 
the  choice  between  two  lines  of  action.  In  simple  form,  the  pro- 
position is  that  either  we  must  advance  rapidly  toward  a  state-wide 
socialistic  control  of  the  bulk  of  individual  action,  or  else  we  must 
make  our  present  freedom  of  individual  action  socially  legitimate 
by  thoroughgoing  organization  of  social  responsibilities ;  of  which 
the  most  significant  feature  would  deal  with  the  evils  of  unem- 
ployment. 

Imagine  for  a  few  minutes  that  the  whole  world  is  one  work- 
shop— just  one  group  of  factory  buildings.  This  is  no  special  feat 
of  the  imagination.  Those  of  us  who  remember  our  geography 
have  a  clearer  idea  of  the  industrial  unity  of  the  world  than  most 
of  us  here  would  have  of  the  unity  of  a  big  machine  shop,  if  we 
stood  within  one.  Such  a  shop  is  really  much  more  complex  from 
the  point  of  view  of  actually  grasping  its  functions  than  are  all 
the  industrial,  agricultural,  mining  and  transportation  problems  of 
the  world  looked  at  in  the  large.  It  is  only  when  we  become  really 
intensive,  it  is  only  when  we  face  all  the  intricacies  of  detail  in  a 
minute  portion  of  existence  that  the  thing  becomes  muddled,  and 
the  mind  puzzled.  A  drop  of  water  under  the  miscroscope  is  a 
vastly  more  complex  thing  than  the  ocean. 

It  is  not  only  comparatively  easy,  therefore,  to  conceive  of  the 
world  as  one  workshop,  but  it  is  very  desirable,  because  in  the  world 
we  can  see  the  great  crude  forces  that  move  affairs.  The  drift  of 
peoples  from  one  land  to  another  is  even  more  obvious  than  the 


424  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

moves  within  one  shop  of  employees  between  job  and  job.  Sim- 
ilarly, we  understand  the  drifts  of  economic  pressure  for  food 
and  housing  and  clothing,  even  for  happiness. 

If  we  once  grasp  these  bigger,  simpler,  forces  which  move  life, 
which  are  in  their  way  as  elemental  as  the  moral  principles  which 
we  are  apt  to  neglect  when  we  get  into  the  intensive  field — like,  for 
example,  the  things  that  we  all  admit  in  the  large,  such  as  the  duty 
to  tell  the  truth,  to  be  forceful,  and  to  be  kind — if  we  have  these 
things  clearly  grasped  in  the  large,  we  shall  be  less  likely  to  lose 
our  way  when  we  come  to  the  attempt  to  build  them  into  the  in- 
tensive field.  It  is  in  that  field  that  exact  truth  telling,  and  being 
highly  forceful,  and  being  surely  kind,  become  not  only  no  longer 
easy  but  practically  impossible.  There  we  can  only  approximate 
them,  no  matter  how  much  we  may  care  about  them,  and  because  of 
our  human  fallibility  in  this,  we  must  be  largely  charitable. 

The  present  chaotic  conditions  of  industry  we  are  accustomed  to 
accept  as  inevitable  when  they  are  a  part  of  the  individual  problem 
each  of  us  is  trying  to  solve;  but  when  we  see  them  making  up  a 
world-wide  and  continuing  situation,  they  become  intolerable  and 
absurd.  It  is  a  sound  historical  truth  that  men  are  willing  to 
sacrifice  as  far  as  they  see  the  need.  It  will  be  true,  then,  that 
when  men  see  that  the  private  ownership  of  industry  is  endangered 
by  present  lack  of  organized  social  responsibility,  they  will  accept 
the  remedy  with  any  immediate  sacrifice  that  may  be  involved. 

If  we  turn  from  a  view  of  the  state  or  the  world  as  one  great 
workshop,  and  look  at  one  particular  factory  here  in  the  city,  we 
see  that  that  factory  can  only  approximate  the  condition  that  would 
be  possible  if  it  were  built  on  the  big,  simple  lines  of  the  whole 
world.  We  can  easily  conceive  world  production,  regulated,  dis- 
tributed and  consumed  with  due  regard  to  the  needs  of  each,  and 
to  the  limitations  of  all  the  people  in  it.  But  in  any  particular  part 
of  this  world — in  any  particular  factory — it  has,  in  the  past  at 
least,  not  even  been  dreamt  of  that  that  factory  could  in  any  way  be 
certain  of  work  305  days  in  the  year  for  a  constant  number  of  em- 
ployees, through  an  attempt  to  find  itself  among  the  larger  forces  in 
which  it  is  set. 

A  few  concerns  have  approximated  this.  These  are  the  ones 
that  realize  that  the  sales  end  is  the  big  imaginative  field  in  in- 
dustry to-day.  It  is  the  sales  end  through  which  we  come  in  contact 


The  Azvakened  Employer  and  Unemployment  425 

with  all  the  great  irregular  forces  of  the  world,  such  as  styles, 
seasons,  periods,  and  days,  and  the  different  peaks  of  the  load  dur- 
ing the  day.  We  have  mastered  the  art  of  regular  production  when 
we  can  get  regularity  of  orders.  We  have,  in  principle,  solved  the 
"big  problems  of  production.  But  we  have  only  peeked  into  the 
problem  of  selling  and  the  allied  problem  of  social  education  and 
consumption. 

The  problem  of  regularizing  sales  presents  grave  difficulties  of 
which  the  greatest  is  our  insistence  on  competitive  and  private 
industry  as  a  sound  basis  both  of  individual  and  social  life.  Private 
industry,  whether  for  the  individual  or  for  groups  of  individuals, 
means  necessarily,  a  very  flexible  world.  It  means  the  ability  to 
move  suddenly  and  quickly  in  any  direction,  filling  what  a  moment 
before  was  a  vacuum,  leaving  another  vacuum  behind.  It  means  the 
irregularity  of  life  which  makes  people  different  and  worth  while 
to  one  another.  We  are  afraid,  if  we  lose  it,  that  we  shall  lose 
the  zest  of  life  which  is  what  lies  at  the  bottom  even  of  the  greed 
for  money,  as  well  as  of  all  the  better  greeds.  If  we  are  willing 
to  give  up  this  flexible  form  of  existence,  it  would  be  possible 
enough  to  do  away  with  all  the  overlappings  and  gaps  which  it 
produces,  ot  which  unemployment,  underemployment,  overemploy- 
ment, are  world  wide  examples.  It  would  be  possible  enough  in  a 
state,  thoroughly  controlled  from  top  to  bottom  and  planet  'round, 
to  cut  out  all  irregularities,  to  plan  the  world  so  that  all  that  was 
needed  was  mined,  raised,  and  manufactured;  to  proportion  all  the 
lines  of  distribution,  to  see  that  every  person,  both  as  to  body  and 
mind,  was  fed  to  the  fullest  extent  of  all  his  needs,  without  robbing 
any  other  person.  On  the  simple  principles  of  an  all-powerful 
state,  it  would  be  an  easier  matter  to  regulate  the  world  than  it  is 
now  for  an  individual  who  has  a  bank  account  and  gumption  to 
regulate  himself. 

But  to  some  of  us  it  seems  that  the  very  springs  of  life  are  in 
these  great  forces  of  competition  which  have  produced  modern 
industry.  We  feel  that  if  a  choice  had  to  be  made  between  a  world 
where  these  forces  had  free  play  and  a  world  where  they  were 
chained  up,  we  should  choose  the  competitive  world  with  all  its 
havoc  and  distress,  and  with  its  hope  and  its  possibilities.  But 
that  choice  we  do  not  consider  it  necessary  to  make — we  see  a 
third  course  which  seems  to  us  possible  and  practicable.  We  see 


426  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

that  the  great  forces  of  individual  freedom  and  initiative,  like 
any  other  powerful  thing,  are  infinitely  valuable  and  infinitely  dan- 
gerous. We  think  that  to  deny  either  the  value  or  the  danger  is 
to  head  for  stagnation  or  for  disaster.  We  say  that  the  value  must 
be  preserved  and  the  danger  safeguarded  against,  and  that  the  in- 
evitable risk  remaining  must  be  carried  by  all  of  us. 

If  private  industry  and  the  forces  of  competition  benefit  society 
and  the  individual,  then  there  is  an  inevitable  duty  resting  on  us. 
Society  at  large  must  see  to  it  that  the  flexibility  of  the  world  and 
the  freedom  of  the  individual,  which  society  desires  to  continue, 
shall  be  paid  for  by  the  beneficiaries,  and  not  by  the  individual 
person  or  the  individual  group,  whether  of  workers  or  employers 
or  consumers.  In  a  word,  employers  are  beginning  to  see  that 
the  social  problems  of  industry  must  be  solved  and  that  they  must 
contribute  to  the  solution — that  unemployment  insurance  in  a  state 
of  private  industry  is  one  of  the  necessary  guaranties  against  the 
extermination  of  private  industry.  If  private  industry  is  to  con- 
tinue to  exist,  it  must,  both  as  a  good  moral  and  a  good  business 
proposition  (for  they  are  intrinsically  inseparable),  organize  through 
all  its  factors,  both  of  employer,  worker,  and  consumer,  to  pro- 
tect the  competing  individual  and  the  competing  group  from  des- 
tructive forces  for  which  they  are  not  in  any  individual  way  re- 
sponsible. 

It  should  be  pointed  out  that  even  this  combination  of  social 
insurance  and  competitive  conditions,  however  necessary  competi- 
tive conditions  may  be  in  the  interests  of  individual  freedom  and 
individual  initiative,  nevertheless  does  not  do  away  with  many  of 
the  social  wastes  of  competition.  It  merely  so  distributes  the  load 
that  society  as  a  whole  bears  the  wastes,  and  not  the  guiltless  indi- 
vidual or  group  whether  of  workers  or  business  men  or  consumers. 
In  other  words,  if  we  decide  that  we  are  benefited  by  the  wastes 
of  competition — that  they  are  legitimate  wastes,  as  the  wastes  of 
the  killed-out  trees  and  shrubs  of  the  forests  make  the  mould  in 
which  the  successful  trees  best  grow — then  it  is  only  just  that  we 
should  distribute  the  payment  for  the  wastes  fairly  over  its  bene- 
ficiaries; namely,  society  as  a  whole. 

This  means  organization. 

First,  the  unemployable  must  be  entirely  separated  from  the  un- 
employed. The  unemployable  must  be  taken  care  of  by  whatever 


The  Awakened  Employer  and  Unemployment  427 

methods  shall  prove  wisest  both  for  their  greatest  usefulness  and 
happiness  and  for  the  greatest  safety  of  the  community,  and  this 
means  that  they  must  be  taken  out  of  the  competitive  market  until 
they  are  able  to  return.  Second,  the  unemployed  must  at  all  times 
be  provided  for  through  unemployment  insurance,  contributed 
to,  first  by  the  state,  because  unemployment  insurance  will  make 
the  consumer  infinitely  more  efficient;  second,  by  the  employer, 
because  it  will  make  production  infinitely  more  efficient;  third,  by 
the  worker,  because  it  will  make  him  infinitely  more  efficient — be- 
cause it  will  make  it  impossible  that  he  should,  under  any  circum- 
stances, be  forced  to  subsidize  the  state  and  the  consumer  and  the 
employer  out  of  his  body  and  soul. 

It  is  important  to  provide  the  most  careful  machinery  for  re- 
ducing the  amount  of  instability  connected  with  industrial  and  com- 
petitive business;  and  to  this  end,  machinery  must  be  devised  in 
labor  exchanges  and  in  regularization  of  production.  Regulariza- 
tion  of  production  lies  in  stability  of  individual  business  within  it- 
self, in  cooperation  between  private  industries  where  the  ebb  and  flow 
come  at  different  times,  and  in  cooperation  with  both  these  activities 
by  properly  placed  public  works.  Finally,  it  lies  in  the  stabilization 
of  all  the  sales  machinery  of  the  world  by  which  the  procurement  of 
the  sales  through  advertising  and  all  lines  of  competitive  devices 
shall  be  worked  out  within  reasonable  rules. 

I  have  no  delusions.  What  I  am  pleading  for  involves  a  tough 
problem  of  administration.  It  is  intricate  and  vast.  Party  spirit, 
sectional  and  class  prejudices  will,  of  course,  stall  in  front  of  it. 
But  the  imaginations  of  our  people  once  touched  by  its  challenge 
will  ride  over  these  obstacles,  and  vision  and  patient  marshalling 
of  detail  will  win  through  and  achieve. 

Macgregor,  in  his  Evolution  of  Industry,  points  out  in  words 
which  have  rung  in  my  memory  ever  since  I  read  them,  how  our 
standards  of  industry  are  medieval  as  compared  with  our  standards 
of  law  and  our  standards  of  civics.  He  tells  how,  in  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  a  no-account  Englishman  got  lost  in  the 
streets  of  Constantinople,  and  Lord  Palmerston  either  did  send,  or 
was  ready  to  send,  the  whole  English  fleet  to  dig  him  up.  How- 
ever useless  the  man  himself  was  as  a  citizen,  he  nevertheless  stood 
for  the  sacred  right  of  a  British  subject  to  be  safe  anywhere  in 
the  world.  And  out  of  the  punch  of  this  incident  as  showing  the 


428  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

rights  that  the  individual  would  really  have  in  a  properly  socialized 
society,  Macgregor  draws  the  wonderful  statement:  "Not  till  the 
case  of  John  Brown,  unemployed,  raises  the  same  social  anger  as 
does  the  case  of  this  no-account  Englishman  lost  in  the  dives  of 
Constantinople,  or  the  case  of  Captain  Dreyfus,  wrongly  con- 
demned, not  till  then,  will  the  standards  of  industry  be  on  a  level 
with  the  standards  of  law  and  the  standards  of  civics." 

This  whole  thing,  the  whole  direction  that  I  have  tried  to  sug- 
gest, will  seem  to  many  of  you  idealistic.  But  would  you  have  be- 
lieved six  months  ago  that  Europe  could  have  organized  hundreds 
of  miles  of  fighting  front  as  it  has  today?  These  tremendous  forces 
of  organization  have  been  woven  with  infinite  care  out  of  the  strands 
of  the  ruthless  passions  of  men,  and  for  destructive  purposes.  Eu- 
rope has  done  it  because  the  powers  of  war  have  touched  its  im- 
agination. The  crimes  of  peace  are  infinitely  greater  than  the 
crimes  of  war.  This  war  does  not  create  the  suffering  and  the 
squalor  that  the  industrial  organization  of  society  causes  to-day.  If 
this  fact  can  once  grip  our  imaginations  we  shall  find  it  possible  to 
organize  in  such  ways  as  to  establish  for  every  man,  woman  and 
child  in  the  world  minimum  conditions  of  health  and  happiness  be- 
low which  no  one,  in  his  own  interests,  and  in  the  interests  of  society, 
will  be  allowed  to  fall. 


THE  WORKERS  AND  UNEMPLOYMENT 


JOHN  F.  TOBIN 
General  President,  Boot  and  Shoe   Workers'   Union 


Unemployment  is  a  problem  for  which  I  have  no  solution.  I 
do  not  believe  there  is  any  complete  solution  which  will  prevent 
periods  of  stagnation  and  consequent  unemployment,  under  our 
present  economic  system.  As  a  trade  unionist,  and  speaking  for 
the  workers  who  are  the  real  sufferers  during  periods  of  industrial 
depression,  I  can  only  venture  a  partial  solution  of  the  question. 
It  is  my  opinion  if  that  the  vast  sums  now  expended  by  manufac- 
turers, merchants  and  employers  generally  in  the  effort  to  prevent 
organization  among  workers,  and  in  the  attempt  to  destroy  existing 
unions,  were  turned  into  a  wage  making  fund,  many  of  the  extreme 
cases  of  suffering  under  unemployment  would  be  avoided. 

It  is  common  knowledge  that  throughout  this  country  there 
exist  hundreds  of  so  called  detective  agencies  which  frequently  cir- 
cularize employers  with  a  view  to  rousing  their  fears  to  the  end 
that  the  employer  may  accept  the  offered  services  which  promise 
to  keep  the  employer  frequently  and  accurately  informed  as  to  the 
doings  of  employees  both  at  work  and  at  other  times.  These 
agencies  agree  to  furnish  men  skilled  in  all  of  the  crafts  and  call- 
ings, who  are  to  be  employed  in  the  works  on  the  regular  pay  roll 
and  by  close  association  with  the  other  employees  learn  their  doings 
and  report  to  the  agency,  which  in  turn  reports  to  the  employers. 
For  this  service  a  fixed  sum  is  charged,  less  the  wages  paid  to 
the  detective  or  spy  so  employed. 

No  accurate  information  is  obtainable  as  to  how  many  employers 
are  the  victims  of  such  services ;  but  there  is  abundant  evidence 
that  the  number  is  great  and  that  large  sums  of  money  are  wasted 
in  this  fruitless  field.  Souvenir  book  advertising  is  a  mild  form 
of  blackmail  as  compared  to  this  form  of  detective  agency.  In 
the  first  place,  it  is  the  business  of  such  agencies  to  alarm  the  em- 
ployers as  to  the  dangers  threatening  them,  and  by  this  means  to 
secure  their  subscription  to  the  services.  Then,  after  the  men  have 


43°  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

been  assigned  for  the  purpose  of  reporting,  it  is  the  especial  business 
of  such  men  to  furnish  their  chiefs  with  the  kind  of  information 
which  will  stimulate  the  services  to  the  fullest  extent.  In  other 
words,  the  men  assigned  to  a  particular  duty  are  expected  to  fur- 
nish reports  which  will  be  calculated,  when  conveyed  to  the  employer 
through  the  agency,  to  convince  such  employer  that  he  is  getting 
good  service,  which  would  have  the  effect  of  continuing  the  income 
of  the  agency.  If  the  detective  assigned  to  the  particular  place 
does  not  furnish  reports  calculated  to  continue  the  services,  he  is 
considered  inefficient ;  and  understanding  what  his  duties  are,  he 
seeks  the  highest  efficiency  in  order  to  maintain  his  own  employment. 

This  is  not  mere  guess  work  on  my  part,  as  I  have  personal 
acquaintance  with  a  number  of  such  cases,  and  I  know  of  men  who 
have  been  discharged  from  the  service  because  they  were  not  able 
truthfully  to  report  business  which  would  be  interesting  to  the  agency 
and  calculated  to  impress  the  employer;  but  I  have  never  known  of 
a  case  where  anyone  was  discharged  for  giving  false  reports,  and 
that  false  reports  are  very  largely  in  the  majority  there  is  conclusive 
proof  in  thousands  of  instances.  I  confidently  make  the  assertion 
that  if  employers  would  refuse  to  be  bled  by  such  methods  and  in- 
stead decide  to  give  full  and  complete  recognition  to  the  right  of 
employees  to  organize  and  to  bargain  collectively  for  their  wages 
through  a  legitimate  and  properly  managed  trade  union  many  of  the 
evils  now  existing  in  industry  would  be  avoided. 

Employers  do  not  hesitate  to  assert  their  own  right  to  organize 
while  they  go  to  great  extremes  in  denying  the  equivalent  right 
to  employees.  Lawlessness  and  the  use  of  legal  forces  by  employers 
wherever  possible  is  a  common  method  of  preventing  organization 
and  of  resisting  the  demands  of  organized  labor.  Naturally  this 
method  is  followed  by  retaliation  and  a  resort  to  similar  methods  as 
a  means  of  resisting  the  encroachments  of  employers. 

If  the  right  of  the  workers  to  organize  was  fully  conceded  and 
fairly  recognized,  the  radicalism  of  the  I.  W.  W.  would  be  im- 
possible. The  workers,  being  put  on  their  honor  in  business  deal- 
ings with  the  employer,  would  be  found  fully  capable  of  dealing 
as  fairly  and  as  honestly  with  the  problems  occurring  between  the 
employer  and  the  employee  as  any  other  class  of  citizens,  and  the 
waste  which  is  now  incident  to  labor  wars  could  be  diverted  to  a 
fund  available  for  both  wages  and  profits. 


The  Workers  and  Unemployment  431 

In  the  shoe  trade  we  have  worked  out  a  very  satisfactory  plan 
of  collective  agreements  which  covers  many  of  the  largest  shoe 
factories  in  the  country.  For  over  fifteen  years  this  plan  has  worked 
successfully  and  strikes  are  almost  unknown  in  the  shoe  trade 
where  such  agreements  are  in  force.  The  relations  between  the 
employer  and  employee  are  much  better;  there  is  not  that  degree 
of  suspicion  and  retaliation  for  real  or  fancied  wrongs  which 
existed  a  few  years  ago.  We  are  surely  and  steadily  building  up 
mutual  respect  and  confidence  and  I  am  entirely  within  the  truth 
when  I  say  that  shoe  manufacturers  generally  have  the  utmost 
confidence  in  the  integrity  of  our  contracts  and  in  our  ability  and 
disposition  to  enforce  them.  I  might  also  say  without  stretching 
the  truth  that  our  members  enjoy  the  highest  wages  paid  in  the 
shoe  trade  and  that  at  the  same  time  the  manufacturers  with  whom 
we  have  business  dealings  are  the  most  successful  and  their  busi- 
nesses the  most  profitable.  We  attribute  this  paradox  to  the  fact 
that  all  of  the  waste  incident  to  strikes  and  lockouts  is  saved  to 
the  wage  fund,  and  employers  doing  business  with  our  union  have 
no  necessity  for  contributing  to  the  detective  agency  to  keep  them 
in  a  state  of  unrest  regarding  their  employees.  Manufacturers 
with  whom  we  deal  frequently  say  that  they  can  sleep  comfortably 
at  night  without  any  fears  of  a  labor  war  in  the  factory  the  next 
morning. 

If  full  and  complete  recognition  is  given  to  the  workers'  right 
to  organize  to  the  end  that  he  may  receive  higher  wages  and 
shorter  hours,  if  he  is  held  responsible  for  his  conduct  as  an  em- 
ployee, and  is  made  to  feel  that  through  his  organization  he  can, 
instead  of  being  a  mere  clod  to  be  browbeaten  and  frightened  into 
submission  and  into  a  state  of  revengeful  retaliation,  become  con- 
structive and  dependable,  in  this  frame  of  mind  he  would  naturally 
provide  against  periods  of  unemployment.  As  it  is  a  well  established 
fact  that  the  sufferings  through  unemployment  are  most  noticeable 
among  unorganized  workers,  it  naturally  follows  that  the  organi- 
zations of  labor  provide  against  periods  of  unemployment  and 
take  care  of  their  members  at  such  times.  Under  existing  con- 
ditions much  of  the  strength  and  resources  of  organized  labor  have 
to  be  used  in  defending  themselves  against  employers  who  vainly 
hope  to  destroy  organization  and  who  by  making  constant  attacks 
upon  unions  seek  to  dissipate  their  financial  resources  and  thus  dis- 
courage them  to  their  final  dissolution. 


432  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

The  record  of  the  labor  movement  and  its  constant  growth  un- 
der adverse  circumstances  would  seem  to  indicate  the  folly  of 
such  tactics.  The  far  sighted  employer  of  to-day  freely  gives 
voice  to  the  statement  that  "Inasmuch  as  labor  organizations  are 
here  to  stay,  and  since  we  must  deal  with  organized  labor  of  some 
sort,  let  us  deal  with  that  which  seems  safest  and  whose  contracts 
can  be  relied  upon." 

If  the  course  which  I  have  suggested  is  followed  by  employers 
I  venture  the  prediction  that  many  of  the  evils  attending  business 
stagnation  will  be  less  acute,  and  with  some  plan  of  scientifically 
distributing  labor  where  Work  is  to  be  had  many  of  the  ills  due  to 
unemployment  which  are  now  present  will  be  avoided. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  policy  of  protection  to 
American  industries  which  excluded  the  products  of  foreign  labor 
while  it  admitted  the  foreign  laborer  without  restriction — and  even 
stimulated  the  bringing  of  armies  of  foreign  workers  to  over- 
crowd the  labor  market — has  been  a  potent  factor  in  increasing  the 
problem  of  unemployment.  Nearly  every  industry  has  contributed 
its  share  of  human  derelicts  through  the  labor  markets  being  over- 
crowded and  average  wages  being  kept  below  a  fair  living  standard. 

The  present  national  policy  of  low  duties  or  no  duties  and  still 
free  and  unrestricted  open  ports  to  cheap  labor  has  not  improved 
the  situation,  but  has  added  further  complications. 

If  the  policy  of  protection  is  right — and  I  believe  it  is — then  in 
like  measure  labor  should  be  protected,  else  we  are  not  consistent. 


RESPONSIBILITY  AND  OPPORTUNITY  OF  THE  CITY 
IN  THE  PREVENTION  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT 


MORRIS  L.  COOKE 
Director  of  Public  Works,  City  of  Philadelphia 


In  a  crisis  like  the  present  our  great  warm-hearted  American 
public  is  always  tempted  to  put  the  emphasis  on  ways  and  means 
for  relieving  the  distress  of  the  moment  rather  than  on  a  study 
of  underlying  causes.  This  is  fine,  and  just  as  it  should  be.  But 
it  seems  to  me  that  out  of  such  a  period  as  this  where  the  evi- 
dences of  suffering  due  to  unemployment  are  multiplied  and  wide- 
spread, the  community  should  rise  determined  to  remove  some  of 
the  incentives  to  this  particular  form  of  industrial  inefficiency. 

The  problem  of  unemployment  is  not  one  primarily  of  dull 
times.  Any  community  which  attacks  the  problem  of  interrupted 
employment  in  good  times  will  suffer  the  minimum  of  distress  in 
bad  times. 

In  the  absence  of  exact  information  as  to  the  wages  paid  to 
the  industrial  workers  of  Philadelphia,  no  definite  statement  can 
be  made  as  to  our  losses  due  to  unemployment,  but  they  undoubt- 
edly total  in  this  city  alone  not  far  from  $50,000,000  annually  even 
in  good  times.  The  largest  part  of  this  great  waste  can  be  re- 
covered, if,  as  a  community,  we  assume  that  the  problem  is  one 
capable  of  solution.  Quite  remarkable  and  unexpected  results  in 
the  elimination  of  casual  and  interrupted  employment  have  been 
brought  about  in  individual  manufacturing  plants.  There  is  no 
reason  why  those  same  results  cannot  be  secured  for  the  com- 
munity as  a  whole.  In  fact  the  larger  the  number  of  workers 
involved,  the  greater  is  the  opportunity  for  giving  steady  em- 
ployment. 

It  is  in  becoming  a  model  employer  that  the  city  will  make  its 
most  definite  contribution  to  the  solution  of  this  problem.  The 
relations  at  present  existing  between  the  city  as  employer  and  those 
who  serve  it  are  archaic  and  in  some  respects  inhuman,  and  are 


434  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

everywhere  hampered  by  checks  which  make  for  inefficiency.  In 
our  muncipalities  we  know  little  about  the  great  movement  initiated 
in  the  industries  during  the  present  generation  to  minimize  the 
causes  of  the  interruption  of  employment  such  as  injuries,  illness, 
inebriety,  distress  and  what  not.  I  have  never  heard  of  a  shop 
physician,  a  factory  nurse,  or  a  social  worker  employed  by  a  city. 
Practically  nothing  has  been  done  toward  teaching  our  employees 
how  to  do  more  than  one  thing.  And  yet  this  is  one  of  the  most 
efficient  safeguards  against  unemployment.  Heretofore  we,  in 
Philadelphia,  always  laid  off  our  road  repair  forces  in  the  winter. 
This  laying  off  at  the  one  season  in  the  year  when  it  is  most  diffi- 
cult to  find  employment,  and  when  it  costs  the  most  to  live,  has 
always  seemed  to  me  the  quintessence  of  cruelty.  We  are  going 
to  keep  our  men  on  this  year,  not  because  we  believe  it  will  be 
possible  for  them  to  make  full  time,  but  because  we  think  it  is 
a  move  in  the  right  direction  and  will  at  least  set  a  good  example. 
In  the  not  distant  future  our  cities  will  learn  to  look  ahead  in 
such  matters  and  to  have  other  work  for  these  men  to  do  during 
the  eight  or  ten  winter  weeks  when  work  on  repairing  and  rebuild- 
ing highways  cannot  be  done  advantageously.  Prior  to  this  ad- 
ministration the  street  cleaning  forces  employed  by  the  contractors 
were  paid  by  the  hour,  and  under  the  specifications  worked  only 
during  fair  weather.  Even  in  industrial  plants  where  most  work  is 
apt  to  be  rush  work  an  increasing  effort  is  being  made  by  the 
selling  forces  to  balance  orders  for  different  kinds  of  work  so  as 
to  provide  steady  work  for  all  regular  employees  and  reduce  the 
necessity  for  taking  on  extra  hands.  In  the  manifold  undertakings 
of  a  city,  many  of  which  are  not  pressing  for  an  immediate  con- 
clusion, there  is  a  wonderful  opportunity  for  this  kind  of  planning. 
Much  as  the  city  can  accomplish  directly  in  this  matter  by  setting 
a  good  example  in  providing  continuous  work  for  all  its  employees, 
much  more  can  be  accomplished  by  providing  the  leadership  for  the 
work  of  others.  Unemployment  in  this  or  in  any  other  community 
must  be  looked  upon  as  abnormal,  and  studied  like  any  other  disease. 
At  a  time  when  the  federal  government  distributes  free  of  charge 
tracts  on  the  diseases  of  the  honey  bee  and  on  the  cultivation  of  cran- 
berry bogs,  have  we  not  the  right  to  demand  of  the  city — as  well 
as  of  the  state  and  nation — help  in  the  study  of  'this  insidious  form 
of  social  maladjustment?  Because  it  is  not  mentioned  in  the  news- 


Responsibility  and  Opportunity  of  the  City  435 

papers  does  not  mean  that  there  is  no  unemployment.  In  certain 
industries  such  as  shoemaking  and  building  construction  the  un- 
employment even  in  normal  times  will  average  twelve  to  fifteen 
weeks  in  a  year.  In  every  city  some  branch  of  the  government 
should  be  definitely  charged  with  the  responsibility  for  pursuing 
this  matter.  Where  it  is  not  possible  to  assign  it  to  an  existing 
arm  of  the  administration,  one  should  be  created.  To  conduct  a 
municipal  employment  agency  should  of  course  be  part  of  the  work 
of  such  a  bureau. 

One  great  obstacle  to  a  proper  control  of  the  employment  situa- 
tion is  the  entire  absence  of  reliable  data.  There  is  absolutely 
no  measure  anywhere  to-day  of  either  distress  or  unemployment. 
In  this  city  one  man's  guess  is  about  as  good  as  another's  as  to 
the  number  of  unemployed  men  and  women.  One  of  the  first 
moves  in  a  municipal  campaign  against  unemployment  would  be 
the  establishment  of  an  agency  which  can  supply  this  information 
regularly  for  the  community  as  a  whole  and  for  each  of  the  in- 
dustries. 

The  duty  of  our  city  government  is  to  increase  the  amount  of 
employment  during  periods  of  industrial  depression  such  as  the 
present  by  every  possible  means.  Just  how  far  this  can  be  car- 
ried will  of  course  depend  on  circumstances.  There  is  a  great  deal 
that  can  be  done  in  this  direction  as  a  matter  of  routine.  An  emer- 
gency procedure  can  probably  be  designed  so  as  to  release  even 
larger  amounts  of  work  at  the  peak  of  the  distress. 

A  conservative  estimate  of  the  number  of  our  unemployed  this 
winter  places  it  at  over  twice  the  normal.  If  we  assume  the  ex- 
cess to  be  50,000,  and  further  assume  that  they  could  all  be  utilized 
on  public  improvements  and  paid  the  current  rate  for  unskilled 
labor  of  $2  a  day,  it  would  require  $2,500,000  a  month  to  keep 
them  engaged.  Obviously  this  is  an  amount  of  money  which  in 
comparison  with  our  normal  annual  expenditures  proves  the  task 
is  too  big  for  the  municipality  to  attempt  without  the  aid  of  the 
industries.  When  we  have  accurate  reports  as  to  conditions,  I 
feel  that  municipal  work  can  be  most  advantageously  used  to  ease 
off  peak  conditions ;  used,  in  other  words,  when  there  is  the  greatest 
amount  of  unemployment  and  when  it  is  of  a  character  to  cause 
the  greatest  distress. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  even  under  the  most  advantageous  cir- 


436  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

cumstances  the  number  of  people  which  a  city  itself  can  employ 
during  an  industrial  depression  will  always  be  small  as  compared 
with  the  possibilities  of  employment  afforded  by  the  community  as 
a  whole.  The  municipality  can  and  must  do  a  great  deal  to  educate 
its  industries  to  their  responsibilities  in  this  matter.  There  must 
be  a  constant  fight  waged  to  reduce  the  total  of  unemployment  in 
good  times  as  well  as  in  bad,  as  a  means  of  prosperity.  This  must 
be  done  to  save  the  loss  due  to  changing  employers  as  well  as 
the  loss  due  directly  to  unemployment.  There  are  some  plants 
that  hire  an  entire  new  staff  of  employees  once  in  two  years.  Some 
I  imagine  change  even  more  frequently.  This  involves  a  tremen- 
dous economic  waste.  There  is  great  room  for  educational  work 
among  employers  in  all  these  matters.  In  this  work  the  munici- 
pality should  take  the  lead  by  instituting  courses  of  lectures  in  in- 
dustrial schools,  by  keeping  close  track  of  conditions,  and  by  other 
means.  Personally  I  should  like  to  see  a  chair  on  unemployment 
established  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

If  we  could  accurately  estimate  the  damage  done  to  a  city  by  a 
period  of  industrial  depression,  I  feel  sure  we  would  break  through 
the  maze  of  red  tape  and  politics  and  inertia  and  hopelessness  and 
conquer  one  more  influence  which  bears  hardest  on  the  weakest 
members  of  the  community. 

The  slogan  for  every  American  city  should  be,  "Any  man  who 
wants  work  and  will  work  shall  have  work!"  This  goal  appears 
to  be  possible  for  most  of  our  cities  most  of  the  time,  if  the  neces- 
sary punch,  foresightedness  and  cooperative  efforts  are  put  into 
the  campaign. 


RELATION  OF  THE  STATE  TO  UNEMPLOYMENT 


JOHN  PRICE  JACKSON 
Pennsylvania  Commissioner  of  Labor  and  Industry 


The  problem  of  unemployment  presents  many  phases  for  con- 
sideration. Thus,  it  brings  up  the  proposition  that  the  man  who 
wants  work  should  be  permitted  to  work,  and  it  opens  up  numerous 
possibilities  and  avenues  for  relieving  suffering  and  want.  But 
more  particularly  pertinent  is  the  concrete,  practical  problem  of 
economic  efficiency.  Every  unit  added  to  the  percentage  of  em- 
ployment during  the  year  of  each  man,  or,  if  you  will,  the  man- 
employment  factor,  means  the  conservation  of  human  resources, 
with  resultant  improved  prosperity  for  the  people.  When  this  lat- 
ter view  of  the  subject  is  taken,  the  purely  theoretic  is  entirely 
eliminated,  and  only  the  practical  effect  on  business,  commerce,  and 
industry  need  be  considered. 

The  economic  importance  of  this  problem  to  business  and  to  in- 
dustry, as  well  as  to  the  individual  employee  may  be  gathered  by 
consideration  of  the  financial  loss  shown  by  some  of  the  figures 
collected  by  the  bureau  of  statistics  of  the  Pennsylvania  Depart- 
ment of  Labor  and  Industry.  Thus,  for  instance,  out  of  570  odd 
plants,  having  about  212,000  employees,  on  December  i,  1914, 
there  were  approximately  70,000  fewer  employees  than  would  be 
demanded  in  times  of  plant  activity.  Furthermore,  of  the  num- 
ber employed  about  77,000  were  working  full  time;  19,000  were 
working  90  per  cent  of  full  time;  21,000,  80  per  cent;  56,000,  70 
per  cent;  16,000,  60  per  cent;  19,000,  50  per  cent;  and  the  remainder 
still  lower  percentages.  The  majority  of  the  employers  indicated 
that,  in  their  judgment,  there  would  probably  be  but  little  change 
during  the  twelve  weeeks  following  December  i.  The  industrial 
establishments  from  which  data  were  obtained  cover  all  parts  of 
the  commonwealth,  and  represent  all  of  the  principal  industries. 
The  number  of  employees  in  the  570  plants  represents  about  one- 
fifth  of  those  for  whom  reports  have  been  received,  indicating 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

very  similar  conditions.  Figuring  the  loss  of  productiveness  of 
the  persons  idle  through  short  hours  per  week,  or  through  entire 
non-employment  in  these  industries,  for  twelve  weeks,  at  the  as- 
sumed rate  of  $2  a  day,  gives  the  enormous  total  of  over  $70,000,- 
ooo,  which,  in  turn,  for  a  year  would  amount  to  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  billion  of  dollars.  Inasmuch  as  these  figures  are  based  only 
upon  the  employees,  numbering  over  1,000,000,  concerning  whom 
the  department  has  direct  reports  of  one  kind  or  another,  and 
does  not  include  the  mining  industries,  the  public  utilities  industries, 
and  the  great  number  of  very  small  establishments,  the  large  econ- 
omic loss  to  this  one  commonwealth  on  account  of  present  un- 
employment becomes  glaringly  evident.  From  informal  reports 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  conditions  are  but  little  better  in 
the  manufacturing  industries  of  other  commonwealths,  so  the  sum 
total  loss  for  the  country  must  be  written  in  many  figures. 

It  must  not  be  understood  from  the  above  figures  that  the  writer 
considers  it  possible  in  any  short  space  of  time  so  to  adjust  the 
industrial  relations  of  the  country  that  all  enforced  unemploy- 
ment can  be  done  away  with.  They  are  given  rather  to  indicate 
how  even  a  small  improvement  over  present  conditions  may  make 
large  savings.  The  writer  also  does  not  wish  to  have  these  fig- 
ures interpreted  as  indicating  long  continued  depression,  since 
many  reports  have  been  received  which  would  lead  to  the  belief 
that  the  country  is  gradually  moving  toward  a  renewal  of  pros- 
perous conditions. 

The  unemployed  may  readily  be  divided  into  two  great  classes. 
The  first  includes  the  permanently  deficient  or  partially  deficient, 
the  sick,  the  injured,  the  unwilling,  and  those  serving  jail  sen- 
tences; the  second,  with  which  we  are  more  interested,  comprises 
the  ablebodied  and  willing.  This  second  class  may  be  conveniently 
subdivided  into  five  parts,  which  include  those  not  working,  or 
working  only  part  of  the  time,  due  to  depressed  business  conditions ; 
those  subjected  to  periodical  loss  of  employment  by  variation  of 
employment  in  seasonal  industries;  those  who  lose  work  through 
labor  troubles;  children  just  out  of  school  who  fail  to  find  suitable 
permanent  work;  and  those  who  suffer  loss  of  time  when  positions 
are  changed,  by  reason  of  a  lack  of  facilities  quickly  to  bring  posi- 
tion and  worker  together. 

The  first  class  has  long  been  recognized  as  an  important  govern- 


Relation  of  the  State  to  Unemployment  439 

mental  responsibility.  Thus  in  Pennsylvania  there  are  scores  of 
great  state  institutions  caring  for  the  deficient,  and  much  larger 
numbers  of  private  or  semiprivate  hospitals  and  similar  institutions 
receiving  state  aid.  In  passing,  I  may  with  propriety  interject 
the  statement  that  the  state  aid  furnished  for  the  latter  has  been 
the  subject  of  severe  and  scathing  criticism.  My  own  expression 
is  that  this  large  number  of  private  and  semiprivate  institutions 
represents  most  valuable  activity.  The  time,  money,  and  brains 
voluntarily  given  by  worthy  and  benevolent  citizens  to  them  amounts 
to  far  more,  when  reckoned  in  dollars  and  cents,  or  in  any  other 
way,  than  the  aid  paid  out  of  the  state  treasury.  State  aid  when 
it  can  be  given  without  injuring  the  state  work  proper,  which  thus 
encourages  the  individual  sense  of  responsibility  of  our  people  for 
the  care  of  the  "halt  and  blind,"  cannot  but  be  good  in  principle. 
This  kind  of  cooperation  between  the  state  and  private  individuals 
or  corporations  can  be  handled  and  directed  in  a  manner  both 
effective  and  efficient.  If  a  system,  as  beneficient  as  that  in  Penn- 
sylvania, has  not  as  yet  reached  perfection  in  all  details,  attention 
should  be  given  to  correcting  the  weaknesses  rather  than  to  the 
destruction  of  the  excellent  framework. 

Every  state  should,  of  course,  see  to  it  that  the  proper  machinery 
is  available  for  caring  for  all  deficient  classes.  Further,  those  who 
are  partly  wanting  in  mind,  body,  or  character,  may,  in  some  cases, 
by  proper  organization  of  our  public,  private  and  semiprivate  in- 
stitutions, be  given  the  opportunity  to  be  of  some  productive  value, 
without  in  any  way  involving  either  inhumane  methods  or  econ- 
omic injury  to  others.  Certainly  it  is  a  business  project,  devolving 
upon  the  government  of  the  people  to  direct  our  methods  and 
processes — whether  of  state,  local,  or  private  character — in  such 
a  way  as  to  accomplish  this  result  in  the  largest  possible  measure. 

The  state  can  reduce  unemployment  due  to  accidents  by  the  pro- 
mulgation of  reasonable  safety  standards  and  methods;  and  then 
by  putting  them  into  force  largely  through  the  medium  of  coopera- 
tion of  employers  and  employees,  both  using  the  processes  of  law 
where  essential.  Though  the  new  department  of  labor  and  industry 
in  Pennsylvania,  which  has  vigorously  pushed  this  kind  of  work 
through  its  short  life  of  a  year  and  a  half,  has  not  yet  gathered 
full  statistics  as  to  the  saving  accomplished,  such  data  as  it  has 
obtained  from  individual  plants  show  reduction  in  accidents  by 


44°  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

this  kind  of  activity  from  15  to  60  per  cent.  When  it  is  considered 
that  the  department's  bureau  of  statistics  received  in  the  last  twelve 
or  fifteen  months  reports  of  about  50,000  accidents,  resulting  in  the 
loss  of  some  millions  of  dollars  of  productiveness,  as  well  as  pro- 
ducing enormous  suffering  and  hardship,  such  percentages  of  sav- 
ings as  those  named  above  are  significant.  Improvement  in  this 
direction  can  be  greatly  advanced  by  a  state's  adopting  industrial 
compensation  laws,  so  devised  as  to  make  it  emphatically  advanta- 
geous to  both  employer  and  employee  to  take  a  hand  in  the  project 
of  reducing  accidents  in  every  reasonable  manner.  Such  laws, 
reasonably  administered,  should  prove  a  boon  to  labor  and  to  in- 
dustry. 

Loss  of  employment  through  disease  or  sickness  incurred  in  the 
workplace  can,  by  similar  activity  on  the  part  of  the  state  govern- 
ment, be  reduced,  with  resultant  large  additions  in  productiveness. 

The  second  class  of  unemployed,  those  of  able  body  and  mind, 
possibly  are  uppermost  in  most  persons'  minds,  by  reason  of  the 
greater  problem  presented.  State  governments  have  not,  until  re- 
cently, assumed  large  measure  of  responsibility  for  this  great  class 
of  unemployed,  and,  therefore,  we  are  entering  into  a  new  field  of 
study  and  procedure,  unguided  by  extensive  past  experience  and 
precedents.  It  is  undoubtedly  a  physiological  necessity  that  men 
who  labor  have  many  and  generous  breaks  in  their  employment. 
The  extent  and  number  of  these  vacations  is  dependent  partly  upon 
the  characteristics  of  the  worker  and  partly  upon  the  employ- 
ment. Enforced  vacations,  however,  not  needed  for  recupera- 
tion, and  not  desired  by  the  worker,  tend  toward  physical,  mental 
and  moral  deterioration,  and  represent  an  even  more  inexcusable 
waste  of  our  resources  than  the  useless  consumption  of  fuel  or 
the  destruction  of  forests.  The  engineers  of  the  country  give 
tremendous  energy  and  thought  to  the  project  of  saving  but  a  small 
fraction  of  a  pound  of  coal  per  horsepower  hour,  because  accom- 
plishment means  immediately  increased  prosperity  to  the  business 
affected.  Such  work  is  in  the  line  of  excellent  conservation  of 
natural  resources.  Likewise,  much  scientific  study  has  been  ap- 
plied in  recent  years  to  making  the  man  and  the  machine,  while 
at  work,  efficient,  for  the  same  personal  reason.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  enormous  waste  in  human  resources,  with  the  resultant 
jnjury  to  the  public  as  a  commonwealth  and  to  the  individual  worker. 


Relation  of  the  State  to  Unemployment  441 

caused  by  enforced  unemployment  in  its  various  forms,  has  been 
given  but  little  scientific  or  engineering  attention. 

Probably  the  first  step  of  prime  importance  which  a  state  can  take 
toward  reducing  this  waste  and  increasing  each  worker's  work-em- 
ployment factor  is  the  establishment  of  methods  whereby  there 
can  be  obtained  a  quick,  businesslike  contact  between  employers 
needing  employees  and  employees  needing  work.  If  such  a  system 
was  established,  say,  in  Pennsylvania,  which  saved  only  a  week's 
time  of  enforced,  undesired  employment  to  as  few  as  50,000  em- 
ployees, there  would  be  a  saving  in  human  productiveness  to  the 
state  of  not  less  than  $600,000,  which  would  amount  to  a  200  per 
cent  profit  on  a  very  generous  estimated  cost  for  operating  such  a 
business.  European  experience  and  that  of  some  of  our  other 
.states  give  evidence  that  far  better  results  than  those  suggested 
above  are  obtainable.  Such  a  system  would  naturally  consist  of 
bureaus  for  labor  and  industry  located  in  the  centres  of  industry 
in  the  various  commonwealths.  But  these  bureaus  would  be  con- 
nected by  state  bureaus,  and  the  several  state  bureaus  by  a  national 
bureau.  The  most  important  functions  of  the  bureaus  would  be 
to  register  those  out  -of  employment  and  looking  for  work ;  to  keep 
on  file  applications  for  various  workmen  received  from  employers 
in  the  districts  in  which  the  bureaus  are  located;  and  to  bring  to- 
gether the  registered  employees  and  applying  employers. 

By  reason  of  the  fact  that  our  national  and  state  constitutions 
are  based  upon  the  wise  general  proposition  that  local  communities 
shall,  as  far  as  they  can,  govern  themselves,  it  is  well  that  the  local 
bureaus  in  industrial  centres  be,  as  far  as  possible,  managed  and 
controlled  by  the  local  people.  In  order,  however,  that  there  may 
be  effective  cooperation  between  the  several  local  bureaus  and  with 
the  central  state  bureau,  it  is  desirable  that  state  governments  main- 
tain some  direction  over  all  of  the  local  bureaus.  In  the  writer's 
judgment,  this  can  be  well  obtained  by  a  method  common  in  our 
public  school  systems,  whereby  the  local  communities  elect  their 
own  boards  of  directors,  who  manage  their  own  schools,  but  where 
the  state  assists  the  local  communities  financially,  and  at  the  same 
time  requires  them  to  maintain  their  schools  in  accordance  with 
given  standards.  Thus,  the  state  might  set  aside  funds  for  the 
establishment  and  maintenance  of  a  central  state  labor  and  in- 
dustrial bureau,  and  funds  for  part  of  the  maintenance  and  opera- 


442  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

tion  of  the  local  bureaus.  The  central  bureau  might  then  be  given 
the  power  to  promulgate  and  enforce  such  regulations  as  would  be 
necessary  to  obtain  coordination  and  produce  satisfactory  results. 

The  system  I  have  thus  briefly  outlined  largely  represents  the 
methods  which  have  been  so  effectively  used  in  Germany.  In  the 
Dresden  bureau,  which  I  examined  at  some  length,  the  processes 
are  quite  simple.  A  long  building  is  provided,  on  one  side  of  which 
are  a  series  of  waiting  rooms,  each  designated  for  workmen  of  a 
particular  trade  or  business.  At  the  other  side  of  the  building, 
and  communicating  with  the  first  row  of  rooms,  are  offices  in  which 
the  clerical  work  of  registering  and  filing  is  carried  on.  In  still 
another  set  of  offices  communication  is  maintained  with  employers 
as  to  their  need  for  workers.  The  machinery  of  these  two  sets 
of  offices  is  so  adjusted  that  the  registered  employee  is  quickly 
brought  into  contact  with  the  employer  calling  for  labor.  This 
Dresden  office  is  bound  to  the  many  others  in  the  industrial  centers 
of  Germany  through  the  medium  of  a  central  office  in  Berlin. 

Bureaus  for  labor  and  industry  make  possible  not  only  the  saving 
of  great  sums  of  money  annually  to  the  commonwealth  through 
improved  methods  of  employment,  but  also  create  machinery  which 
can  be  made  of  material  value  with  little  extra  expense  as  a  medium 
for  providing  information  concerning  markets,  methods  of  manu- 
facture, prices,  costs,  and  other  items.  Further,  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  when  considering  this  subject  that  the  agricultural  industry, 
which  stands  in  particular  need  of  suitable  employment  aids,  can 
be  materially  benefited.  It  has  been  found  that  there  are  an  ap- 
preciable number  of  men — especially  foreigners — in  our  cities,  suited 
by  training  and  inclination  for  farm  work,  who  can  be  induced  to 
go  to  the  country  through  the  medium  of  such  state  activity  as  is 
being  here  considered. 

Some  have  thought,  at  times,  that  such  a  system  of  employment 
offices  would  be  used  unfairly  in  the  settlement  of  labor  troubles. 
In  Germany  this  has  not  proven  to  be  the  case,  nor  has  there  been 
difficulty  in  our  own  states  where  such  systems  have  been  in  op- 
eration. The  difficulty  is  readily  avoided  by  properly  drawing  the 
legislation  upon  which  the  system  is  based. 

State  governments,  through  the  medium  of  their  departments  of 
labor  and  industry,  and  through  suitably  constituted  scientific  ex- 
perimental stations,  can  do  much  toward  developing  methods  for 


Relation  of  the  State  to  Unemployment  443 

reducing  seasonal  unemployment.  There  are  many  cases  where 
employers,  through  their  own  initiative  and  activity,  have  been  able 
to  regularize  their  industries  for  themselves  to  a  large  extent.  If 
the  work  was  fathered  and  pushed  by  the  state,  much  could  be 
done  to  raise  the  yearly  man-employment  factor.  This  statement 
is  not  based  merely  upon  theory,  but  upon  what  has  been  accom- 
plished in  many  industries.  There  is  also  a  chance,  with  suitable 
labor  bureaus  as  described,  to  reduce  seasonal  unemployment  through 
enabling  unskilled  labor  to  be  shifted  from  one  occupation  to  another 
without  serious  delay. 

In  times  of  serious  depression,  there  must  undoubtedly  be  loss 
of  human  energy  and  suffering.  Nevertheless,  the  local  and  state 
governments  can  do  much  in  the  way  of  reducing  this  waste.  This 
can  be  accomplished,  by  the  state,  through  advancing  or  quickening 
work  upon  the  highways,  harbors,  public  buildings,  and  the  like, 
and  in  municipalities  by  the  same  or  similar  methods. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  that  while  the  writer  was  in  Europe 
this  summer,  both  the  German  and  English  governments  were  giv- 
ing— apparently  through  necessity — practical  and  earnest  consider- 
ation to  the  problem  of  the  unemployed,  and  were,  by  the  kind  of 
activity  spoken  of,  succeeding  in  relieving  a  very  difficult  situation. 

I  might  add  that  possibly  the  greatest  force,  however,  for  reliev- 
ing unemployment  in  times  of  depression  can  be  applied  by  private 
individuals  and  corporations  through  means  similar  to  those 
advocated  above  for  the  state.  Thus  if  the  farmers  or  householders 
will  all,  as  many  now  do,  when  they  find  much  labor  is  idle,  make 
repairs,  extensions  and  changes  which  under  any  conditions  must 
soon  be  made,  and  if  the  corporations  will  do  likewise,  an  enormous 
sum  total  of  work  may  be  made  quickly  available,  even  though  the 
individual  project  of  any  single  person  or  corporation  be  small. 
This  is  a  form  of  charity,  if  you  will,  which  costs  little,  and  is 
most  profitable  to  both  the  state  and  the  workers.  Indeed,  by  rea- 
son of  the  fact  that  during  times  of  depression  wages  and  material 
prices  are  apt  to  be  low,  the  chances  are  that  there  will  be  no  extra 
financial  cost  whatever. 

One  of  the  best  ways  in  which  the  state  government  can  reduce 
unemployment  for  the  future  is  to  have  the  local  school-districts 
establish  systems  of  practical  continuation  schools,  where  young 
people  who  must  leave  school  at  an  early  age  and  enter  the  ranks 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

of  labor  can  for  a  few  hours  each  week  learn  the  scientific  rudi- 
ments of  their  business;  become  acquainted  with  arithmetic  as  ap- 
plied to  their  life's  work;  obtain  an  improved  working  knowledge 
of  spoken  and  of  written  English ;  learn  the  proper  attitude  toward 
work  and  industrial  organization;  study  practical  methods  of  living 
in  their  communities  and  their  duties  as  citizens ;  obtain  information 
as  to  the  care  of  health;  and,  in  general,  gain  early  in  life  in  a 
scientific,  effective  manner,  information  of  the  utmost  value  for 
making  them  skilled,  intelligent  employees.  Without  such  schools 
this  information  may  never  come  to  them,  leaving  them  in  the  casual 
worker's  class — or,  at  best,  it  must  come  in  a  haphazard,  disjointed 
manner  during  a  long  period  of  years,  and  must  be  obtained  through 
the  hard  knocks  of  experience. 

The  last  state  of  activity  which  I  will  touch  upon  with  reference 
to  the  great  subject  of  unemployment  has  to  do  with  loss  of  work 
during  labor  difficulties.  It  is  a  proposition  susceptible  of  ready 
proof  that  labor  differences  can  be  settled  as  easily  before  they  have 
reached  the  point  of  a  strike  or  lockout  as  is  possible  afterward, 
provided  that  both  sides  to  the  controversy  can  be  brought  to  the 
point  of  dealing  fairly  and  frankly  one  with  another.  In  the 
Pennsylvania  Department  of  Labor  and  Industry  it  has  been  found, 
through  a  year  and  a  half  of  experience,  with  a  very  small  avail- 
able force,  that  it  has  been  possible  to  prevent  or  settle  many  labor 
troubles  and  to  shorten  stoppage  ot  worK  occasioned  thereby  to 
a  marked  degree.  This  experience  is  such  as  to  lead  me  to  consider 
that  the  establishment  of  an  effective  mediation  and  conciliation 
bureau  is  of  great  economic  importance  to  any  commonwealth, 
and  it  has  proved  that  such  governmental  agencies  bring  returns 
in  added  productiveness,  or,  if  you  will,  in  the  avoidance  of  human 
labor  waste,  to  an  extent  many  times  the  amount  involved  in  the  cost 
of  such  bureaus. 

In  closing,  I  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  though 
I  have  touched  upon  many  governmental  activities,  there  has  been 
nothing  suggested  which  should  be  construed  as  in  the  nature  of 
paternalism  or  as  involving  any  material  centralization  of  state 
government  by  the  addition  of  many  office  holders.  To  the  con- 
trary, it  has  been  my  aim  to  develop  clearly  the  serious  importance 
of  unemployment  as  a  state  and  a  national  economic  problem  which 
pan  be  dealt  with  largely,  with  excellent  hope  of  valuable  results,. 


Relation  of  the  State  to  Unemployment  445 

by  already  existing  arms  of  the  government  and  the  local  com- 
munities. Only  a  small  increase  in  payments  from  the  state  treas- 
ury is  contemplated,  and  no  increase  whatever  in  state  paternalism. 
Indeed,  as  a  citizen,  I  should  earnestly  deplore  any  governmental 
move  which  would  cause  us  to  tread  the  paternalistic  or  bureau- 
cratic paths  followed  during  the  past  score  of  years  by  a  sister 
country,  which  have  led  to  such  a  reduction  in  individual  self-reliance 
and  to  such  overburdened  payrolls  that  even  some  of  the  officials 
themselves  decry  the  system.  It  must  be  understood,  nevertheless, 
that  this  attitude  does  not  preclude  governmental  activity  in  sup- 
porting, and  possibly  in  some  measure  directing,  beneficial  or  insur- 
ance associations,  lodges,  or  unions  of  employers  or  employees  or 
both,  which  are  designed  to  protect  the  employees  from  want  during 
enforced  unemployment.  This  country  is  watching  closely  the  work 
being  done  in  England  along  these  lines,  and  though  her  methods 
probably  will  not  prove  to  be  wholly  suited  to  this  country,  it  is 
likely  that  our  state  government  will  eventually  do  much  to  forward 
the  accomplishment  of  the  same  purpose,  while  avoiding  any  ten- 
dency to  weaken  the  magnificient  individual  self  reliance  and  sense 
of  responsibility  of  our  people. 

I  must  add  one  further  sentence,  namely,  that  the  suggestions 
I  have  made  would  prove  helpful  not  only  to  the  workmen  but  also 
to  their  employers  and  to  the  country  as  a  whole. 


THE  NATION  AND  THE  PROBLEM  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT 


MEYER  LONDON 
Congressman-Elect,  New  York  City 


Very  few  men  have  the  courage  to  deal  with  the  problem  of  un- 
employment. Unemployment  is  inevitable  under  the  present  system 
of  production.  It  is  not  an  accident,  it  is  a  feature  of  our  pre- 
vailing methods  of  production  and  distribution;  and  when  men 
in  public  life  speak  so  glibly  of  competition  as  the  very  essence  of 
our  civilization  they  forget  that  competition  cannot  exist  unless  there 
is  an  unemployed  man  to  take  the  place  of  the  employed  man.  Com- 
petition in  industry  between  employer  and  employer  must  be  based 
upon  competition  between  worker  and  worker  for  a  job.  It  neces- 
sarily involves  the  presence  of  a  number  of  men  who  are  out  of 
employment — of  a  number  of  men  who  are  willing  to  work  for 
a  smaller  wage. 

The  adoption  of  modern  inventions,  of  better  methods  and  of  new 
devices,  temporarily  causes  unemployment,  so  that  there  is  a  constant 
reserve  of  unemployed.  Competition  in  those  industries  which 
have  not  yet  reached  the  stage  of  a  monopoly  involves  constant 
shifting  of  unemployment.  What  does  competition  mean?  It 
means  a  struggle  between  employer  and  employer;  it  means  the 
extinction  of  some,  the  supremacy  of  others.  The  collapse  of  the 
defeated  employer  means  loss  of  employment  to  his  workers. 

In  those  industries  which  have  reached  a  stage  of  monopoly, 
labor  is  absolutely  powerless,  the  unions  amount  to  nothing,  their 
resistance  is  nil.  The  employers  maintain  large  armies  in  a  con- 
dition of  semi-starvation ;  they  distribute  employment  as  best  suits 
their  purpose.  Some  seasonal  industries  serve  the  demands  of 
fashion.  Woe  to  the  man  whose  employment  and  whose  job  de- 
pend upon  the  caprices  and  insanities  of  fashion.  In  the  seasonal 
industries  unemployment  is  a  feature.  A  bad  harvest  means  un- 
employment. A  new  machine,  a  new  device,  means  the  displacing 
of  labor.  And  that  process  goes  on  continuously,  and  there  is 


The  Nation  and  the  Problem  of  Unemployment  447 

always  a  continuous  shifting  of  the  men  who  have  jobs  into  the 
position  of  jobless  men. 

The  unemployment  problem  is  therefore  a  permanent  and  chronic 
disease  of  society.  Of  course  it  is  easy  to  say  that  the  man  who- 
wants  to  work  should  have  a  job.  I  was  very  much  surprised 
when  a  representative  of  a  large  international  union  had  the  cour- 
age here  on  this  platform,  to  say — and  I  do  not  want  to  criticise 
him — that  he  did  not  know  how  to  tackle  that  proposition;  that 
as  a  matter  of  fact  he  did  not  give  any  serious  thought  to  it! 

Presidents  of  the  United  States  may  neglect  that  problem,  but 
organized  labor  men  must  take  it  up  as  a  pro'blem  involving  their 
very  existence.  I  admit  I  have  no  suggestions  to  make  as  to  how 
to  solve  the  problem  at  once,  but  I  hope  to  do  something  a  little 
later.  In  Congress  they  will  first  get  scared  when  I  take  my  seat; 
they  will  think  I  am  going  to  upset  the  social  system  at  once,  al- 
though I  promised  not  to  bring  about  the  social  revolution  during 
my  first  term. 

I  fully  realize  that  we  cannot  make  the  change  in  a  day.  We 
have  not  yet  fully  recognized  the  existence  of  a  social  problem. 
The  fact  that  you  are  here,  that  the  American  Association  for  Labor 
Legislation  has  gathered  this  splendid  conference,  is  in  itself  a  step 
forward.  It  is  a  thing  that  was  impossible  ten  years  ago,  for  the 
reason  that  there  was  no  awakening  of  the  social  conscience — the 
social  problem  was  not  recognized  in  the  United  States.  Our  poli- 
tical economists,  our  professors,  denied  the  existence  of  a  social 
problem.  But  recently  men  and  women  have  become  interested  in 
the  great  social  problems  of  the  day.  One  can  hardly  expect,  how- 
ever, that  Congress  or  the  nation  will  do  anything  in  the  very 
near  future. 

Unemployment  is  a  national  problem.  Of  course  it  is  the  duty 
of  every  municipality  to  do  something,  to  send  a  good  and  eloquent 
speaker  who  will  declare  that  a  man  who  wants  to  work  has  a 
right  to  work!  It  is  the  duty  of  the  state  to  send  a  representative 
to  give  us  statistics.  A  municipality  can  do  something,  and  should 
do  something.  A  state  can  do  something,  and  should  do  something, 
undoubtedly.  The  nation  must  do  a  great  deal.  The  people  of 
the  United  States  realized  that  they  were  a  nation  when  con- 
fronted with  the  curse  of  chattel  slavery.  It  is  only  as  a  nation 
that  they  can  grapple  with  the  problem  of  unemployment,  which 
is  inseparable  from  wage  slavery. 


448  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

Labor  exchanges  must  be  established;  you  must  learn  the  extent 
of  the  problem,  you  must  know  the  variations  of  unemployment. 
Knowledge  must  precede  all  legislation,  all  action.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  people  overestimate  the  power  of  the  legislator  for  good 
and  underestimate  his  power  for  mischief.  The  acquisition,  the 
systematizing  of  knowledge  on  a  subject,  is  of  course  a  preliminary 
step ;  in  the  establishment  of  national  labor  exchanges  you  will  have 
made  the  first  step  in  the  direction  of  studying  the  problem  and  of 
discovering  the  real  character  of  the  difficulties. 

But  let  me  say  right  here  that  the  mere  establishment  of  labor 
exchanges  will  not  furnish  jobs.  On  the  very  day  when  you  will 
establish  a  national  system  of  labor  exchanges,  the  board  of  direc- 
tors of  some  corporation  which  controls  an  industry  will  discharge 
25,000  men,  will  separate  25,000  men  from  their  jobs.  So  the  mere 
establishment  of  a  national  labor  exchange  will  not  secure  jobs 
for  the  jobless.  If  it  be  true  that  unemployment  is  inseparable 
from  the  present  state  of  society,  and  if  it  is  a  permanent  evil,  we 
must  adopt  a  permanent  cure. 

And  what  is  that  cure?  We  have  grown  enough  in  most  civilized 
states  to  realize  the  necessity  of  compensation  to  a  man  who  is 
injured  and  suffers  loss  because  of  an  accident  while  in  employ- 
ment. None  of  our  compensation  laws  are  perfect,  none  are  suffi- 
cient. Most  of  them  exclude  the  loss  and  the  damage  done  by 
occupational  diseases,  and  that  is  a  very  serious  matter.  However, 
we  have  grown  to  realize  the  importance  of  compensation  in  ac- 
cidents. Now  we  know  that  unemployment  is  a  permanent  accident, 
and  with  the  knowledge  that  it  is  ever  present,  what  is  the  solution  ? 
To  secure  ourselves  against  that  loss  we  must  devise  some  method 
of  insurance  against  it. 

And  who  shall  do  it?  The  municipality?  Yes,  in  a  small  way; 
but  the  municipality  is  necessarily  limited  in  its  opportunity.  This 
is  primarily  the  work  of  the  nation.  It  is  the  nation  whose  duty 
it  is  to  provide  for  a  national  compulsory  insurance  law  cover- 
ing unemployment.  Such  a  law  should  be  national  and  compulsory 
because  I  do  not  want  to  rely  upon  the  kindness  of  the  employer, 
not  because  I  do  not  consider  the  employer  a  man  of  honor.  I  know 
that  the  employer  and  the  employee  are  made  of  the  same  stuff. 
God  in  His  supreme  wisdom  divided  stupidity  between  both  classes. 
But  our  modern  system  of  production  is  such  that  the  good  and 


The  Nation  and  the  Problem  of  Unemployment  449 

noble  employer  is  punished  for  being  kind  and  noble.  Take  the 
case  of  two  employers  under  different  influences.  One  of  them  has 
been  attending  a  course  in  ethics,  and  really  takes  it  seriously.  He 
goes  to  his  factory  and  says :  "It  is  mean  for  me  to  employ  my  peo- 
ple such  long  hours ;  the  wages  I  pay  are  too  small.  It  is  wrong ;  I 
am  going  to  pay  bigger  wages  and  reduce  the  hours,  and  improve  the 
sanitary  conditions;  and  I  am  going  to  provide  against  unemploy- 
ment." His  competitor,  who  has  attended  a  lecture  at  the  em- 
ployers' association  and  listened  to  an  efficiency  expert,  concludes 
otherwise.  The  efficiency  man  tells  him,  "You  introduce  a  new 
device;  it  will  save  you  20  per  cent  of  the  number  of  employees. 
You  will  not  have  to  use  so  many  machines.  It  will  speed  up  the 
plant  and  the  product  will  be  bigger."  Now  we  have  one  employer 
under  the  influence  of  ethical  culture  and  one  under  the  influence 
of  the  employers'  association,  and  while  one  decreases  the  hours 
of  labor  and  increases  the  wages,  the  other  increases  the  hours  and 
decreases  the  number  of  employees.  Which  of  these  two  men 
will  survive?  The  man  who  is  a  man  will  perish,  under  our  pres- 
ent system  of  production.  Under  that  system  we  have  the  survival 
of  the  meanest,  most  brutal  men,  of  the  men  who  work  their  work- 
ers as  though  they  were  automatons  and  machines,  and  not  human 
beings  at  all.  I  do  not  place  my  trust  in  the  kindness  of  the  em- 
ployer, because  our  present  system  of  production  is  such  that  it 
punishes  the  good  employer  who  has  the  instincts  of  humanity 
and  follows  them. 

In  England  they  have  the  compulsory  insurance  act  of  1911. 
While  that  act  is  not  perfect,  while  it  is  still  young,  it  is  a  courageous 
step.  We  have  the  other  European  countries  aiding  the  municipali- 
ties and  the  various  subdivisions  of  the  state.  It  is  no  longer  a 
mere  theory  of  doctrinaires,  it  is  now  a  practice,  and  this  seems  to  be 
the  only  way  to  relieve  unemployment,  permanently. 

The  modern  system  of  production  is  absurd  and  the  future  his- 
torian will  designate  it  as  the  period  of  chaos. 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION 

THERESA  S.  McMAHON,  University  of  Washington,  Seattle, 
Wash.:  The  unemployed  are  generally  classified  into  two  groups, 
namely,  those  unable  to  hold  jobs  because  of  physical  or  mental 
deficiency  and  whose  number  seem  to  increase  in  periods  of  in- 
dustrial depression;  and  those  workers  capable  of  holding  jobs 
when  jobs  are  to  be  had. 

We  are  primarily  concerned  with  the  latter  group,  which  fur- 
ther divides  itself  into  two  divisions:  (i)  workers  willing  to  work 
at  any  price  even  though  the  price  offered  for  their  labor  is  less 
than  a  living  wage,  and  (2)  workers  unwilling  to  work  unless  they 
receive  a  fair  wage  for  their  services. 

On  the  Pacific  coast  these  two  groups  of  workers  are  attempt- 
ing to  solve  the  problem  of  unemployment  in  a  characteristically 
western  way.  They  are  trying  to  help  themselves  rather  than  looking 
to  philanthropic  institutions  for  charity. 

The  first  group,  under  the  leadership  of  Henry  Pauly,  were  given 
the  use  of  an  abandoned  hospital  building  and  accepted  all  kinds 
of  odd  jobs  for  which  they  received  food  supplies  and  anything 
that  could  be  used  in  maintaining  their  comfort  in  this  building. 
Unmarketable  bread,  small  potatoes  and  unmarketable  dried  fish 
and  other  supplies  formed  the  nucleus  of  their  bill  of  fare.  Con- 
tracts for  clearing  land  near  Seattle  were  accepted  at  low  figures, 
the  men  tided  over  the  winter  and  the  land  owners  got  their  land 
cleared  at  a  low  cost. 

This  winter  a  similar  group  under  Pauly  is  continuing  the  same 
cooperative  struggle  against  great  odds. 

The  second  group  of  willing  and  efficient  workers  out  of  work 
protest  vigorously  against  any  scheme  which  calls  upon  them  to 
do  a  necessary  part  of  the  world's  work  for  a  fractional  part  of 
its  real  value. 

This  second  group  is  composed  of  willing  and  able  workers  but 
they  demand  a  decent  day's  wage  for  a  decent  day's  work.  In 
other  words,  they  demand  a  just  wage. 

The  times  are  out  of  joint  through  no  fault  of  theirs.  They 
argue  that  the  workers  have  produced  plenty  for  all  and  are  willing 
to  continue  to  produce  but  have  not  the  opportunity.  They  refuse 


General  Discussion  451 

to  beg.  They  demand  work,  and  failing  to  obtain  it  at  a  fair  wage 
they  quietly  walk  into  the  restaurants,  order  a  meal  and  walk  out 
with  the  suggestion  that  society  pay  the  bill. 

The  people  of  the  state  of  Washington  are  not  indifferent  to 
the  problem  of  unemployment  nor  do  they  show  any  tendency  to 
offer  charitable  panaceas  as  a  permanent  remedy.  They  are  try- 
ing to  work  out  some  constructive  policy,  and  as  a  preliminary  step 
have  made  it  illegal  for  employment  offices  to  charge  fees  for  jobs. 

A  bill  will  be  presented  to  the  next  legislature  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  network  of  public  employment  offices  all  over  the  state. 
This  will  make  possible  the  complete  organization  of  the  labor 
market,  which  we  hope  is  the  first  step  toward  the  organization 
of  industry  itself. 

The  aggressive  attitude  of  the  leaders  among  the  workers  has 
impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the  people  the  fact  that  the  problem 
will  have  to  be  met  in  another  way  than  by  providing  food  and 
clothing  for  a  period  of  distress  such  as  we  are  passing  through 
at  the  present  time. 

I  believe  that  this  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  working  people, 
which  is  characteristically  western,  will  do  more  towards  the  solution 
of  this  problem  than  perhaps  we,  who  discuss  it  in  a  theoretical 
way,  can  accomplish.  They  do  have  some  plan  of  action,  and  some 
definite  program.  Either  we  shall  have  to  work  out  some  program 
of  ultimate  solution  of  unemployment,  or  we  will  have  to  accept 
the  solution  they  are  offering  us.  The  one  they  are  offering  us  is 
socialism. 

MRS.  JAMES  P.  WARBASSE,  Brooklyn  Committee  on  Unemploy- 
ment: In  discussing  the  prevention  of  unemployment  I  speak  not 
only  for  myself  but  for  several  members  attending  this  session  in 
expressing  surprise  that  no  mention  has  been  made  of  the  most  ob- 
vious and  essential  remedy — work. 

When  a  man  is  out  of  a  job  it  does  him  little  good  to  know  that 
there  is,  or  should  be,  a  complete  system  of  employment  exchanges 
— all  of  which  admit  that  they  cannot  usually  supply  one-thirtieth 
of  the  applicants  with  the  thing  they  now  seek — work.  To  be  sure, 
they  also  exist  to  collect  and  distribute  information,  but  desirable 
as  this  latter  function  is  to  the  student  of  the  problem,  the  man  out 
of  a  job  needs  more  than  information,  he  needs  work. 


452  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

Many  years  hence,  when  confidence  in  these  exchanges  has  been 
established  among  workers  and  employers,  they  may  be  able  ad- 
equately to  connect  up  the  job  and  the  worker.  To-day,  they  only 
tabulate  the  misery  they  cannot  relieve.  We  should  look  for  more 
than  this  in  attempting  to  solve  the  unemployment  problem  to-day, 
and  so  we  turn  to  consider  the  next  most  oft-repeated  solution  of  the 
problem  presented  at  this  conference. 

That  is  unemployment  insurance — a  purely  palliative  measure — 
championed  in  many  quarters,  it  is  true,  but  seldom  by  the  unem- 
ployed themselves.  We  feel  it  is  a  reflection  on  the  self-respect 
of  a  man  who  is  eager  and  willing  to  work  and  to  produce  those 
things  needed  by  society,  in  return  for  which  he  hopes  to  support 
independently  himself  and  family,  to  offer  him  a  pittance — seven 
shillings  a  week,  as  is  offered  in  England.  All  the  world  knows 
this  must  be  supplemented  by  charity.  Figures  show  us  that  un- 
employment is  not  a  condition  that  exists  for  a  week  now  and  then 
through  the  year.  Two  and  a  half  million  lost  four  to  six  months, 
3,000,000  lost  one  to  three  months  each  year,  according  to  the 
United  States  Census  report  of  1900.  Infinitely  greater  would  be 
the  figures  to-day.  Who  can  live  for  months  at  a  time  solely 
on  such  unemployment  insurance  as  has  ever  been  advocated  or 
tried?  A  man  who  can  and  will  work  should  not  be  subsidized 
to  remain  in  idleness.  Our  courts,  reformatories  and  prisons  all 
indicate  the  relation  between  crime  and  idleness.  Sooner  or  later 
idleness  through  lack  of  work  will  bring  about  the  same  evils  that 
result  from  voluntary  idleness.  Unemployment  tends  to  demoral- 
ize the  worker,  and  for  that  reason  insurance  as  a  substitute  for 
employment  is  only  a  makeshift  remedy. 

A  far  more  worthy  goal  in  the  prevention  of  unemployment  is 
the  attempt  to  get  our  states  and  municipalities  to  undertake  con- 
templated public  works  and  to  project  new  ones.  Every  effort  should 
be  made  to  stimulate  this  program.  Even  this  solution,  however, 
is  most  inadequate. 

No  scheme  that  fails  to  take  into  account  the  work  of  women 
can  cover  the  situation.  Women  are  a  permanent  feature  of  our 
industrial  life  and  their  unemployment  is  a  serious  phase  of  the 
unemployment  problem.  The  office  girl,  the  factory  hand,  the 
saleswoman  are  not  comprehended  in  any  plan  of  work  on  public 
roads  and  sewers.  Many  men  suffering  through  unemployment  are 


General  Discussion  453 

equally  unfitted  for  this  heaviest  type  of  manual  labor,  the  only 
kind  usually  endorsed  for  relief  work. 

Let  us  face,  then,  the  problem  of  what  work  to  give  the  unem- 
ployed in  the  city  to-day. 

There  are  in  the  downtown  sections  of  Manhattan,  especially  in 
the  Broome  and  Greene  Street  district,  and  in  the  I4th  and  23rd 
Street  district,  vacant  loft  buildings  suitable  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poses, and  now  renting  at  one-half  their  usual  rental,  sufficient  in 
number,  as  one  prominent  real  estate  man  put  it,  "to  employ  an 
army."  And  this  is  exactly  what  we  have  on  our  hands — an  army 
of  unemployed  able-bodied  men  and  their  destitute  wives  and  chil- 
dren. Undoubtedly  such  empty  buildings  are  available  in  all  large 
cities. 

These  loft  buildings  should  be  filled  with  the  unemployed  work- 
ers, both  men  and  women,  among  whom  would  be  found  tailors, 
shoe  makers,  garment  workers,  hatters,  carpenters,  cabinet  makers, 
bakers,  cooks,  waiters  and  probably  members  of  every  other  trade 
necessary  to  manufacture  for  themselves  clothing,  food,  and  house- 
hold furniture  and  utensils.  A  number  of  buildings  could  be  set 
apart  as  living  quarters  for  the  homeless  men  and  part  of  their 
wages  paid  in  lodgings  and  meals  at  a  central  building  designated 
for  that  purpose. 

This  form  of  work  need  not  compete  with  existing  trades  but 
should  stimulate  business  in  the  city  and  would  create  a  demand 
for  raw  material  used  in  the  manufacture  of  clothing  and  furniture. 
Such  workers  would  not  compete  with  or  displace  other  workers, 
for  the  unemployed  are  now  neither  producers  nor  consumers  to 
any  extent,  and  when  their  wants  are  supplied  by  their  own  labor, 
the  surplus  product  instead  of  being  sold  in  the  open  market  could 
be  purchased,  at  prices  based  on  cost  of  production,  by  popular  sub- 
scription and  sent  to  meet  any  great  emergency,  as  for  example, 
that  of  the  Belgian  refugees.  Of  course,  in  such  work  the  present 
public  employment  exchanges,  state  and  municipal,  would  be  utiliz- 
ed and  all  applicants  for  employment  would  be  obliged  to  register 
and  prove  their  residence  in  the  city  before  securing  this  temporary 
work. 

The  elasticity  of  such  a  plan  must  be  apparent,  as  the  number 
of  workers  employed  would  necessarily  expand  and  contract  in 
accordance  with  the  conditions  of  the  labor  market. 


454  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

This,  in  general,  is  the  plan.  The  details  will  have  to  be  worked 
out  by  competent  executives. 

As  to  the  problem  of  financing  such  work,  if  the  state  needed 
these  men  in  case  of  war,  how  long  would  it  take  the  city  and  the 
state  of  New  York,  or  the  nation,  to  employ  them  at  an  expense 
in  the  field  of  from  $3  to  $5  a  day,  in  purely  destructive  work, 
at  the  same  time  supporting  the  wives  and  children  at  home?  What 
the  state  can  do  in  time  of  war,  can  it  not  do  by  employing  these 
men  in  wealth-producing  labor,  and  is  not  the  obligation  to  do  it 
at  least  as  great? 

If  however,  the  city  or  state  officials  should  be  advised  by  their 
counsel  that  there  are  legal  obstacles,  it  is  a  simple  matter  to  secure 
immediate  legislation  when  the  will  to  do  the  thing  is  present  and 
the  people  demand  it.  I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  immensity  of 
such  a  proposition,  but  let  us  come  together  seriously  and  try 
to  grapple  with  this  huge  public  disaster,  for  thus  we  must  designate 
wholesale  destitution  whether  it  result  from  fire,  flood,  war  or 
unemployment. 

FRANCIS  D.  TYSON,  University  of  Pittsburgh:  I  will  just  try 
to  sum  up  a  little.  Mr.  Valentine's  constructive  paper  reminded 
me  that  Thomas  Carlyle  had  gone  to  the  heart  of  this  thing  when 
he  said,  "You  cannot  lead  a  fighting  world  unregimented.  Can 
you  any  more,  then,  lead  a  working  world  unregimented?"  In 
fact,  we  have  seen  to-night  that  as  every  social  advance,  as  every 
combined  human  endeavor  in  the  world,  has  at  some  stage  of  its 
development  needed  organization,  so  industry  now  needs  it. 

Our  much  talking  about  unemployment  has  at  least  led  us  to 
see  how  complex  is  this  industrial  problem,  and  how  many-sided 
and  long-ranged  must  be  our  program  of  solution.  We  must  go 
back  to  the  central  problem  of  the  readjustment  of  industry,  and 
we  must  consider  too  the  whole  problem  of  the  increase  in  in- 
dustrial efficiency.  If  we  are  to  develop  any  constructive  plan 
of  unemployment  insurance,  we  must  realize  that  we  must  have  a 
high  grade  of  cooperative  activity  between  employer  and  employee. 
When  we  consider  the  negative  aspects  of  the  absolutism  presented 
by  Mr.  Tobin,  and  the  critical  attitude  of  Mr.  London,  we  see  that 
this  stage  of  cooperation  is  not  yet,  and  that  perhaps  we  must  face 
a  thorough  campaign  extending  over  a  long  period  of  public  educa- 


General  Discussion  455 

for  industrial  efficiency.  Mr.  Jackson  pointed  out  that  in  this 
democratic  America  we  have  what  I  might  call  a  trend  toward  a 
bureaucratic  state  mechanism,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  this  is  what 
we  must  consider,  at  least,  in  moving  forward  with  our  program 
of  labor  exchanges. 

On  the  other  hand  we  have  made  great  progress  by  coming  to 
realize  the  social  cost  of  our  industrial  policy  of  laissez-faire.  I 
have  just  been  going  over  the  first  batch  of  schedules  of  a  little 
study  of  unemployment  in  a  Pennsylvania  steel  town,  wherein  is 
told  the  sad  story  of  the  using  up  of  scanty  savings,  of  the  plung- 
ing of  families  into  debt  and  the  attendant  misfortunes.  So  per- 
haps we  have  now  reached  the  place  where  we  must  seek  to 
harness  this  monstrous  mechanism,  and  we  are  this  winter  in  a 
position  where  we  may  go  forward  to  face  experiments  with 
practical  forms  of  public  labor  exchanges  and  of  public  work, 
in  an  endeavor  to  find  a  solution  for  this  last  great  human  problem 
— the  problem  of  industry. 

ELIZABETH  S.  KITE,  New  Jersey  Department  of  Charities  and 
Corrections:  The  habitually  unemployed  class  is  recognized  to 
be  the  inefficient  class.  The  scientific  instruments  to-day  available 
enable  us  to  penetrate  the  cause  of  this  inefficiency  and  to  learn 
that -it  lies  primarily  in  a  lack  of  intelligence,  that  is  to  say  in  an 
intelligence  that  has  never  developed  the  higher  faculties  of  judg- 
ment, reason,  the  power  of  control,  and  adaptability,  but  which 
remains  permanently  childlike  in  character,  without  initiative  or 
ability  for  independent  action. 

This  class  retained  within  competitive  ranks  has  precisely  the 
same  effects  upon  wages  as  child  labor.  By  lowering  the  standard 
of  work  and  the  amount  produced,  the  value  of  labor  is  lessened 
for  the  whole  group.  Only  by  eliminating  this  class  can  normal 
wage  conditions  be  secured. 

Very  insufficient  studies  have  so  far  been  made  upon  the  men- 
tality of  the  habitually  unemployed  class,  but  it  is  highly  probable 
that  the  majority  have  the  mental  development  of  children  from 
eight  to  twelve  years  of  age.  This  development  is  sufficient  for  ac- 
quiring most  of  the  trades,  but  does  not  insure  the  ability  to  carry 
them  forward  with  success.  The  childlike  mentality  is  lacking  in 
judgment,  tends  to  slight  work,  and  cannot  relate  the  part  to  the 


456  American  Labor  Legislation  Review 

whole.  Workers  of  this  class  are  easily  discouraged,  take  offense 
at  a  "yes"  or  a  "no,"  and  throw  up  their  jobs  without  warning. 
The  responsibilities  of  life  fail  to  rouse  them  to  effort  because 
their  lack  of  judgment  prevents  their  realizing  responsibility. 
Teaching  or  preaching  avail  nothing,  for  the  lack  is  fundamental — 
there  is  literally  nothing  there  to  be  roused. 

The  remedy  for  these  evils  seems  to  be  segregation.  Since  the 
mentality  of  this  class  suffices  for  unskilled  labor  and  for  the 
trades,  it  is  only  necessary  to  supply  direction  and  supervision. 
Colonized  upon  waste  land,  this  class  can  be  made  to  contribute 
largely  to  its  own  support.  Once  recognized  to  be  only  children  in 
mind,  responsibilities  beyond  their  power  will  no  longer  be  placed 
upon  these  dependents  nor  permitted  to  them.  Being  children  they 
can  easily  be  made  happy  and  their  comfort  assured  at  a  cost  not 
exceeding  what  is  at  present  so  ineffectively  expended  upon  them 
by  charity  organizations,  while  the  benefit  to  society  at  large  and 
to  the  labor  problem  in  particular  will  be  immeasurable. 


V 


SUPPLEMENTAL  SELECT  BIBLIOGRAPHY 
ON  UNEMPLOYMENT 


BRIEF  LIST  OF  REFERENCES 

ON 

UNEMPLOYMENT,  EMPLOYMENT  EXCHANGES  AND 
UNEMPLOYMENT  INSURANCE 


SUPPLEMENTAL   SELECT    BIBLIOGRAPHY   ON 
UNEMPLOYMENT 


The  growing  interest  in  the  subject  of  unemployment  since  the 
publication  of  our  first  Select  Bibliography  on  Unemployment  in 
the  AMERICAN  LABOR  LEGISLATION  REVIEW  for  May,  1914,  has 
made  advisable  the  compilation  of  the  supplemental  bibliography 
herewith  presented. 

The  period  has  been  too  short  for  the  appearance  of  many  new 
noteworthy  books  on  the  subject,  and  the  literature  listed  is  there- 
fore for  the  most  part  pamphlet  and  magazine  material.  Through  it 
all,  however,  is  manifest  the  fact  that  the  problem  is  being  ap- 
proached in  a  serious,  business  like  way,  as  one  calling  for  per- 
manent, constructive  effort  and  not  for  mere  temporary  relief. 

Copies  of  publications  on  the  subject  are  still  requested,  in  order 
that  this  bibliography  may  be  continually  amplified  and  revised 
to  meet  the  growing  needs  of  students  of  and  workers  on  the 
problem. 


BIBLIOGRAPHIES 


Massachusetts.      Bureau  of  statistics. 

Labor  bibliography.     Bost9n,  1913 — . 

Contains  annually  lists  of  literature  on 
unemployment  and  related  subjects,  in 
United  States  and  abroad. 

Schanz,  G.     In   Elster's   Woerterbuch 


des  Volkswirtschaft,    Jena,  Fischer, 


Bibliographies  of  German  authorities  on 
unemployment  and  related  subjects,  in 
surance  (p.  211),  and  employment  bureaus 

(P.  221). 


GENERAL  WORKS 


American  association  for  labor  legis- 
iation.  Unemployment.  (American 
labor  legislation  review,  Oct.  1914, 

V    4  '484-486  ) 

'Review  of  'legislation  on  unemployment 
and  on  employment  agencies  in  the  United 
States  m  1914. 


ing  wage  for  women.  (American 
labor  legislation  review,  June,  1915* 
v.  5:287-418.) 

Income-losses    of    women    workers    through 
unemployment   and    underemployment. 

Andrews,  John  B.      A     practical     pro- 
for   the   prevention   of  unem- 

" 


V.  4:600-608.) 

Activities  of  International  association^  on 
unemployment  and  of  American  section; 
work  of  Chicago  unemployment  commission; 
ISew  York  state  legislation  on  public  employ- 
ment  bureaus.  ^ 

Andrews,  Irene  OsgOOd.     The  relation 

of  irregular  employment  to  the  liv- 


A  number  of  constructive,  practical  sug- 
Restions  looking  to  the  prevention  of  unem- 
ployment  through  the  establishment  of  public 
employment  exchanges,  systematic  distribu- 
tion  of  public  work,  regularization  of  in- 
dustry,  unemployment  insurance,  and  other 
helpful  measures  including  constructive  care 

of  the  unemployable. 


460 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


Barnes,  Charles  B.  Unemployment 
and  public  responsibility.  (Survey, 
Oct.  10,  1914,  v,  33:48-50.) 

General    treatment    of    the    subject. 

Bedford,  A.  Unemployed  problem. 
(Overland,  n.  s.,  July,  1914,  v.  64: 
92-99.) 

Interesting  first  hand  account  of  ex- 
periences of  an  itinerant  worker. 

Beveridge,  W.  H.  The  problem  of 
the  unemployed.  (Sociological  pa- 
pers, v.  3  1323 -344.)  London,  1007. 

Brief  scientific  treatment  of  problem  and 
of  practical  measures  for  solution. 

Bruere,  Henry.  A  proposal  in  refer- 
ence to  unemployment  in  the  winter 
of  1914  for  consideration,  by  his  hon- 
or the  mayor  of  the  city  of  New 
York.  New  York,  1914.  8  p. 

A  progressive  program  against  unemploy- 
ment. 

California.  Commission  of  immigra- 
tion and  housing.  Report  on  unem- 
ployment. iState  printing  office, 
1914-  73  P. 

Supplement  to  first  annual  report.  Recom- 
mendations for  the  elimination  of  unemploy- 
ment, including  state  labor  exchanges, 
regulation  of  private  employment  agencies, 
housing  regulation,  unemployment  insurance, 
rural  credits,  state  land  bureau  and  other 
points. 

Chicago's  city  grocery  store  for  un- 
employed. (Survey,  Mar.  14,  1914,  v. 
3i:735.) 

One  branch  of  Chicago's  relief  program. 

...... ..memorial  hotel  for  the  unem- 
ployed, Rufus  F.  Dawes  hotel.  (Lit- 
erary digest,  Jan.  3,  1914,  v.  48:208- 
209.  > 

The  Churches,  the  city  and  the  "army 
of  the  unemployed"  in  New  York. 
(Survey,  Mar.  28,  1914,  v.  31:792- 

795-) 

The    situation    in    New    York    city. 

Cooke,  Morris  L.  Responsibility  and 
•opportunity  of  the  city  in  the  pre- 
vention of  unemployment.  (Ameri- 
can labor  legislation  review,  June, 
1915,  v.  5:433-436.) 

Plea  for  city  activity. 

Crissey,  P.  and  Wilhelm.  D.  Human 
scrap  heap.  (Technical  world,  Jan. 
1914,  v.  20:759-764.) 

Fate   of  aged  unskilled  workers. 

Diagnosis  of  workless.  (Literary  di- 
gest, May  16,  1914,  v.  48:  1200.) 

Account   of  New   York   investigation. 

Fitch,  John  A.  Employment  agencies, 
socialism  and  minimum  wage  on  the 
stand.  (Survey,  May  30,  1914,  v.  32: 
230-231.) 


The       longshoremen's       case. 

(Survey,    June   20,   .1914,    v.    32:320- 

321.) 
Class  fighters  and  a  hobo  who 

solved  a  problem.     (Survey,  Sept.  5, 

1914,  v.  32:559-56o.) 
Unemployment,     charity     and 

the  minimum  wage.     (Survey,  Sept. 

12,  1914,  v.  32:593-594.) 

Interesting     reports     of     hearings     before 

United     States     Commission     on     industrial 

relations. 

Great  Britain.  Local  government 
board.  Report  to  president  of  the 
board  on  dock  labor  in  relation  to 
the  poor  law  relief,  by  Gerald  Walsh. 
London,  1908. 

yaluable  in  connection  with  R.  Williams' 
"First  year's  workings  of  the  Liverpool 
docks  scheme." 

Hart,  J.  K.  The  problem  of  unem- 
ployment. (Welfare,  May  1914,  v. 
2,  no.  3:18-22.) 

General  discussion  of  problem  and  pro- 
posed remedies. 

How  to  tell  a  hobo  from  a  mission 
stiff.  (Survey,  Mar.  21,  1914,  v.  31: 

78i.) 

Account  of  International  brotherhood  wel- 
fare association. 

Holmes,  John  Haynes.  Tannenbaum 
in  the  large.  (Survey,  Apr.  25,  1914, 

v.    32:94-95.) 

Discussion  of  Tannenbaum's  invasion  of 
New  York  churches. 

Hourwich,  I.  A.  Immigration  and 
labor.  New  York,  Putnam,  1914. 
"Unemployment,"  p.  114-147. 

Treats  of  causes  of  unemployment;  im- 
migration; statistical  tables. 

International  association  on  unem- 
ployment. Quarterly  bulletin  of  the 
International  association  on  unem- 
ployment; edited  by  Max  Lazard. 
Paris,  1911 — 

Contains  articles  by  European  and  Amer- 
ican specialists,  in  English,  French  and  Ger- 
man. The  issues  which  have  appeared  in 
1914  have  dealt  with  the  following  topics: 
No.  1,  international  reports  on  the  operation 
of  unemployment  insurance  systems,  reports 
on  unemployment  and  public  works;  no. 
2,  working  of  unemployment  insurance  in 
England,  equilibrium  between  production  and 
consumption,  international  statistics  on  un- 
employment. 

Jackson,  John  Price.  Relation  of  the 
state  to  unemployment.  (American 
labor  legislation  review,  June,  1915, 
v.  5:437-445.) 

Estimate  of  economic  loss  through  unem- 
ployment and  description  of  preventive  meth- 
ods open  to  the  state. 

Kellor,  Frances  A.  Is  unemployment 
a  municipal  problem?  (National 


General  Works 


461 


municipal  review,  Apr.  1914,  v.  3,  no. 

2.) 

Scientific  discussion  of  limitations  and 
possibilities  of  municipal  employment  bur- 
eaus. 

Out  of  work.  New  York,  Put- 
nam, 1915.  =69  p. 

Discussion  of  the  extent  of  unemployment 
in  America,  unemployment  among  women 
and  children,  employment  agencies,  unem- 
ployment insurance,  criticism  of  remedies 
proposed,  and  a  program. 

London,  Meyer.  The  nation  and  the 
problem  of  unemployment.  (Amer- 
ican labor  legislation  review,  June, 
1915,  v.  5:  446-449.) 

Unemployment  an  inevitable  result  of  our 
present  industrial  system;  a  national  prob- 
lem; need  of  labor  exchanges  and  unem- 
ployment insurance. 

Mason,  G.  Jobless  man  and  the  state. 
(Harper's  weekly,  Mar.  28,  1914,  v. 
58:28.) 

Popular  presentation  of  unemployment,  its 
causes  and  remedies. 

McKibben,  W.  K.  Idle  men  on  idle 
land.  (Welfare,  Aug.  1914,  v.  2:10- 
n.) 

Work  of  Henry  Pauly's  Hotel  de  gink 
workers  on  a  tract  of  land. 

Meeting  unemployment  in  .Canada. 
(Survey,  Nov.  14,  1914,  v.  33:165.) 

Unemployment  caused  by  the  war  in 
Canada. 

Municipal  plans  for  the  unemployed. 
(Survey,  Feb.  21,  1914,  v.  31:633- 
635-) 

Efforts  of  various  cities  in  behalf  of  un- 
employed. 

O'Hara,  Frank.  Unemployment  in 
Oregon,  its  nature,  extent  and  rem- 
edies. Portland,  1914.  39  p. 

Treats  of  practical  measures  designed  to 
minimize  or  to  counteract  unemployment. 

Redistribution  of  public  work 

in  Oregon.  (American  labor  legis- 
lation review,  June,  1915,  v.  5:238- 
244.)  . 

Feasibility  of  shifting  a  considerable 
amount  to  dull  years  and  seasons. 

Oregon  plan  for  reducing  unemploy- 
ment. (Survey,  Oct.  17.  1914,  v.  33: 
59-) 

Measures  to  prevent  recurrence  of  severe 
unemployment. 

Pigou,  Arthur  Cecil.  Unemployment. 
New  York,  Holt,  1913.  256  p. 

Popular  discussion  of  unemployment,  its 
extent,  causes,  and  proposed  remedies. 

Poindexter,  Miles.  The  industrial 
army  of  the  United  States.  (Wel- 
fare, May,  1914,  v.  2,  no.  3:  18.) 

Remarks  on  Poindexter  industrial  army 
bill. 


Protest  of  working  women  of  New 
York.  (Survey,  Feb.  14,  1914,  v.  31: 
605-606.) 

Protest  meeting  under  auspices  of  Woman's 
trad^e  Bunion  league. 

Provision  for  unemployed  in  Boston 
and  Portland,  Oregon. (Survey,  Mar. 
28,  1914,  v.  31:796.) 

Conditions  of  employment  and  provisions 
for  unemployment  in  cities  named. 

Public  works  and  unemployment. 
(American  city,  Sept.  1914,  v.  II, 
185-190.) 

Editorial  "Let  the  armies  of  construction  go 
forward!"  urging  continuation  of  municipal 
public  works  in  spite  of  the  war;  collection 
of  opinion  on  subject  by  mayors  of  21  cities. 

Richter,  F.  Ernest.  Seasonal  fluctua- 
tions in  public  works.  (American 
labor  legislation  review,  June,  I9i5> 
v.  5:245-264.) 

Study  of  conditions  in  Boston  metropoli- 
tan district. 

Rowntree,  B.  S.  Way  to  industrial 
peace  and  the  problem  of  unemploy- 
ment. London,  Unwin,  1914.  "Prob- 
blem  of  Unemployment,"  p.  127-182. 
Popular  statement  of  casual  labor,  the 
unemployables  and  unemployment,  with  sug- 
gested remedies. 

Seattle  citizens'  committee  on  unem- 
ployment. (Welfare,  May,  1914,  v. 
2,  no.  3:22.) 

Smith,  Rufus  D.  Canada's  new  policy 
of  deporting  the  unemployed.  (Sur- 
vey, Aug.  15,  1914.  v.32:498.) 

Relation  of  unemployment  to  Canada's 
immigration  campaign;  deportation  as  remedy 
for  unemployment. 

Soziale  Praxis  und  Archiv  fur  Volks- 
wohlfart.  Berlin. 

Weekly  paper  devoted  to  discussion  of  labor 
questions.  Frequent  articles  on  unemploy- 
ment and  related  subjects. 

Stern,  Leon.  Unemployment  problem 
of  the  southwest.  (Survey,  Nov.  i, 
1913,  v.  31:136.) 

Account  of  conditions  causing  drifting, 
with  solution  of  pro'blem  suggested. 

Talbott,  E.  Guy.  The  armies  of  the 
unemployed  in  California.  (Survey, 
Aug.  22,  1914,  v.  32:523-) 

Account  of  experiences  of  unemployed  ;n 
California. 

Unemployment  in  Chicago  due  to  war. 
(Survey,  Oct.  17,  1914,  v.  33:59-6°-) 

Public  works  and  municipal  lodging  houses 
as  remedies  for  unemployment. 

Unemployment  in  New  York.  (Out- 
look, Mar.  4,  1914,  v.  106:567-569.) 

Conditions  in   New  York   city. 

United  States.  Bureau  of  Labor  Sta- 
tistics. Unemployment  in  New  York 
City,  New  York.  (Its  Bulletin,  no. 
172.) 


462 


American  Labor  Legislation  Review 


Report  of  a  study  Conducted  in  February, 
1915,  resulting  in  an  estimate  of  398,000 
unemployed  in  that  city  alone  at  that  time. 

United  States.     Commission  on  indus- 
trial relations.     First  annual  report. 
Washington,   Govt.  print,  off.,   1914. 
"Unemployment,"  p.  55-57- 
Outline    of   investigations. 

Valentine,  Robert  G.  What  the  awak- 
ened employer  is  thinking  on  un- 
employment. (American  labor  legis- 
lation review,  June,  1915,  v.  5:423- 
428.) 

Necessity  of  protecting  worker  from  ef- 
fects of  unavoidable  unemployment  through 
some  system  of  insurance,  if  present  com- 
petitive system,  with  its  advantages,  is  to  be 
retained. 

Vorse,  Mary  Heaton.  The  case  of 
Adolf.  (Outlook,  May  2,  1914,  v. 
107:  27-31.) 


Account  of  event  in  New  York  demonstra- 
tion among  the  unemployed. 

Webb,  Sidney.  The  war  and  the 
workers.  Fabian  tract  no.  176. 
London,  1914. 

Handbook  of  some  immediate  measures 
to  prevent  unemployment  and  to  relieve 
distress.  Deals  with  keeping  up  the  volume 
of  employment  during  war  .times  by  means 
of  necessary  works  of  public  utility,  ratker 
than  by  relief  works. 

Woehlke,  W.  V.  Porterhouse  heaven 
and  the  hobo.  (Technical  world, 
Aug.,  1914,  v.  2i:8o8:8i3.) 

Discussion  of  hobo  question. 

Wood,  Arthur  E.  A  study  of  the  un- 
employed. (Reed  college  record, 
Social  science  bulletin  no.  18.)  Port- 
land, 1914. 

Study  of  conditions  of  unemployment  in 
Portland  during  the  winter  of  1913-1914. 


EMPLOYMENT  EXCHANGES 


Anders,  E.  Employment  agencies  in 
Portland,  Oregon.  (Survey,  July  11, 
1914,  v.  32:  400-) 

Andrews,  John  B.  A  national  system 
of  labor  exchanges.  (New  republic, 
Dec.  26,  1914,  v.  i;  no.  8,  part  2,  8  p.) 

Causes  leading  to  demand  for  a  national 
system;  plan  of  organization  for  same;  his- 
tory of  the  Murdock  bill;  selected  critical 
bibliography. 

Barnes,  Charles  B.  Public  employment 
bureaus — organization  and  opera- 
tion. (American  labor  legislation 
review,  Tune,  1915,  v.  5:195-202.) 

Need  of  public  employment  bureaus  and 
growing  public  interest  in  them.  Practical 
suggestions  for  their  conduct. 

Beveridge,  W.  H.  Seventeenth  cen- 
tury labor  exchanges.  (Economic 
journal,  Sept.  1914,  v.  24:  371-376.) 

Interesting  account  of  early  labor  exchange 
established  by  Henry  Robinson  in  London, 
1635. 

Beveridge,    W.    H.    and    Key,    C.    F. 

Labor  exchanges  in  the  United 
Kingdom  (Quarterly  bulletin  of  the 
international  association  on  unem- 
ployment, July,  1913,  v.  3,  no.  3:767- 
825.) 

Authoritative  description  of  British  em- 
ployment exchange  system  and  its  methods 
of  operation. 

Bringing  the  jobless  man  to  the  man- 
less  job.  (Literary  digest,  Feb.  28, 
1914,  v.  48:419-420.) 

Collection  of  expressions  from  various 
sources. 

Chicago's  special  measures  for  unem- 


ployed.   (Survey,  Jan.  17,  1914,  v.  31: 
457.) 

Report  of  opening  of  Chicago's  free  employ- 
ment bureau. 

Cincinnati  labor  exchanges  for  handi- 
capped.(Survey,  May  16,  1914,  v.  32: 
189-190.) 

Special    department   established   for   handi- 
capped workers. 

Courtney,  W.  L.  New  labor  ex- 
change. Nineteenth  century,  Sept. 
1914,  v.  76:631-637.) 

Occupations  open  to  unemployed  women. 

Department  of  public  welfare  provided 
by  (Seattle)  charter  revision  com- 
mission. (Welfare,  May,  1914,  v.  2, 
no.  3:23.) 

Provisions     for     free     public     employment 
offices. 

Employment  bureaus  in  schools.  (Sur- 
vey, Sept.  12,  1914,  v.  32:587.) 

Latest    development    in    Wisconsin     social 
center  movement. 

Gardner,  G.  Job-finding  and  man- 
hunting.  (Technical  world,  Oct. 
1914,  v.  22:  176-183.) 

Need   for   a   national   system    of   labor   ex- 
changes. 

Gompers,  Samuel.  The  perverted 
Wisconsin  commission.  (American 
Federationist,  Sept.  1913,  v.  20: 

745-) 

Criticism    of   work   of   Wisconsin    free   em- 
ployment bureaus. 

Halsey,  Olga  S.  Directing  the  work 
life  of  English  children.  (Survey, 
May  16,  1914,  v.  32:  195-196.) 

Service    of    labor    exchanges    in    diverting 
juvenile  labor  from  blind  alley  industries. 


Employment  Exchanges 


463 


Human  side  of  job  finding.  (Literary 
digest,  Mar.  14,  1914,  v.  48:  592.) 

Incidents  occuriing  in  Illinois  free  em- 
ployment bureaus. 

Kandel,  I.  L.  Elementary  education 
in  England,  with  special  reference  to 
London,  Liverpool,  and  Manchester. 
(United  States  Bureau  of  education, 
bulletin  1913  no.  57,  whole  no.  568.) 
Washington,  Govt.  print,  off.,  1914. 
161  p.  "Juvenile  employment,"  p. 
1511-158- 

Discussion  of  problems  of  juvenile  em- 
ployment based  on  experience  of  juvenile 
departments  of  English  labor  exchanges. 

Kavanaugh,  J.  F.  Civil  service  for 
private  employment.  (American  city, 
Mar.  1914,  v.  10:  238-240.) 

Use  of  civil  service  examinations  in  con- 
nection with  public  employment  bureaus. 

Kellor,  Frances  A.  Three  bills  to 
distribute  labor  and  reduce  unem^ 
ployment.  (Survey,  Mar.  7,  1914.  v. 
31:694.) 

Discussion  of  three  bills  pending  before 
congress. 

Leiserson,  W.  M.  Theory  of  public 
employment  offices  and  the  prin- 
ciples of  their  practical  administra- 
tion. (Political  science  quarterly,  Mar. 
1914,  v.  29:28-46.) 

Thorough  scientific  treatment  of  the 
subject. 

Washington  state's  employ- 
ment agency  referendum.  (Survey, 
Oct.  24,  1914,  v.  33:87.) 


Public  employment  bureaus  properly  or- 
ganized as  substitute  for  private  agencies 

Man  and  the  job.  (Outlook,  Jan.  17 
1914,  v.  106:  1113-114.) 

Advocates   public  employment   bureaus. 

National  employment  bureau.  Hear- 
ings before  the  Committee  on  labor, 
(United  States)  House  of  represen- 
tatives, 63d  congress,  2d  session. 
Washington,  Govt.  print,  off.,  1914. 
112  p. 

Three  parts;  hearings  on  June  5,  Tune  12. 
and  July  13,  1914  on  the  Murdock  and  Mac- 
Donald  bills. 

Spender,  C.  M.  Humanity  of  the 
labor  exchange.  (Contemporary, 
May,  1914,  v.  105:698-703.) 

Operation  of  English  labor  exchanges. 

Tarbell,  Ida.  The  golden  rule  in  bus- 
iness. (American,  Dec.  1914,  v.  78: 
24-29.) 

Suggestions  for  organization  in  labor 
market  and  in  industry  to  overcome  evils  of 
seasonal  trades. 

Ueland,  Elsa.  Juvenile  enployment  ex- 
changes. (American  labor  legislation 
review,  June,  1915,  v.  5:203-237.) 

A  dilemma;  typical  juvenile  exchanges  in 
the  United  States  and  Europe;  suggestions 
for  organization  and  administration. 

Williams,  R.  First  year's  working  of 
the  Liverpool  docks  scheme.  Lon- 
don, King,  1914.  192  p. 

Account  of  a  successful  attempt  to  abolish 
casual  labor  on  the  docks  of  Liverpool;  the 
high  water  mark  of  efforts  in  this  direction. 


UNEMPLOYMENT  INSURANCE 


Bailward,  W.  A.  Some  impressions 
of  the  first  six  months'  working  of 
compulsory  insurance  against  unem- 
ployment in  England.  (Quarterly 
bulletin  of  the  International  associa- 
tion on  unemployment,  April  1914, 
v.  4,  no.  2:  489-499.) 

Interesting  study    of   operation   of   English 
act  and  of  problems  arising  under  it. 

Beveridge,    W.    H.    and    Key,    C.    F. 

State  unemployment  insurance  in 
the  United  Kingdom.  (Quarterly 
bulletin  of  the  International  associa- 
tion on  unemployment,  Jan.  1914,  v. 
4,  no.  i:  129-187.) 

Detailed  statistical  study  of  operations  un- 
der the  act. 

Coman,  Katherine.  Social  insurance, 
pensions  and  poor  relief.  (Survey, 
May  9,  1914,  v.  32:  187-188.) 

Distinguishing   features     of     each    brought 
out. 


Unemployment    insurance    in 

France.     (Survey,  June  6,  1914,  v.  32: 
281.) 

What  will  the  war  mean  for 

social  insurance  in  Europe?  (Survey, 
Oct.  17,  1914,  v.  33:  74-75.) 

Probable  results  in  Europe. 

Fehlinger,  Hans.  Unemployment  in- 
surance in  Bavaria.  (American  fed- 
erationist,  Apr.  1914,  v.  31:  333-334-) 

Halsey,  Olga  S.     Compulsory  unem- 
ployment insurance  in  Great  Britain. 
(American  labor  legislation  review, 
June,  1915,  v.  5:265-278.) 
Workings  of  English  act. 

Pigou,  Arthur  Cecil.  Unemployment. 
New  York,  Holt,  1913.  256  p.  "Un- 
employment insurance,"  p.  203-228. 

Popular  statement  of  subject. 


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.No.  i :    Proceedings  of  the  First  Annual  Meeting,  1907. 
No.  2:    Proceedings  of  the  Second  Annual  Meeting,  1908.* 
No.  3:    Report  of  the  General  Administrative  Council,  1909.* 
No.  4:     (Legislative  Review  No.  i)  Review  of  Labor  Legislation  of  1909. 
No.  5:     (Legislative  Review  No.  2)  Industrial    Education,    1909. 
No.  6:     (Legislative  Review  No.  3)  Administration  of  Labor  Laws,  1909.* 
No.  7:     (Legislative  Review  No.  4)  Woman's  Work,  1909.* 
No.  8:     (Legislative  Review  No.  5)  Child  Labor,  1910. 
No.  9:    Proceedings  of  the  Third  Annual  Meeting,  1909.* 
No.  10 :  Proceedings  of  the  First  National  Conference  on  Industrial  Dis- 
eases, 1910.* 

No.  ii :  (Legislative  Review  No.  6)  Review  of  Labor  Legislation  of  1910. 
No.  12:  (American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  Vol.  I,  No.  i.)     Proceedings 

of  the  Fourth  Annual  Meeting,  1910. 
No.  13:  (American   Labor   Legislation   Review,   Vol.   I,   No.   2.)    Comfort, 

Health  and   Safety  in  Factories. 
No.  14:  (American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  Vol.  I,  No.  3.)     Review  of 

Labor  Legislation  of  1911. 

No.  15:  (American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  Vol.  I,  No.  4.)     Prevention 
and  Reporting  of  Industrial  Injuries. 

Scientific  Accident  Prevention,  John  Calder. 

Practical  Safety  Devices,  Robert  J.  Young. 

The    Wisconsin    Industrial    Commission,    John    R.    Commons. 

Safety  Inspection  in  Illinois,   Edgar   T.    Davies. 

The  Massackusetts  Board  of  Boiler  Rules,  Joseph  H.  McNeill. 

The   Beginning  of   Occupational    Disease   Reports,   John    B.    Andrews. 

Accident  Reports  in  Minnesota,  Don  D.  Lescohier. 

Advantages   of   Standard   Accident   Schedules,    Edson    S.    Lott. 

A  Plan  for  Uniform  Accident  Reports,  Leonard  W.  Hatch. 

No.  16:     (American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  Vol.  II,  No.  i.)     Proceedings 

of  the  Fifth  Annual  Meeting,  1911.* 
Relation  of  State  to  Federal  Workmen's  Compensation  and  Insurance  Legislation: 

Introductory  Address,  Henry  R.   Seager. 

Compulsory  State  Insurance  from  the  Workman's  Viewpoint,  John  H.   Wallace. 

Accident  Compensation   for  Federal  Employees,   I.   M.   Rubinow. 

Constitutional   Status  of  Workmen's  Compensation,   Ernst  Freund. 
Uniform  Reporting  of  Industrial  Injuries: 

Report  of   Special  Committee   on   Standard   Schedules,   Leonard   W.   Hatch. 
Unemployment  Problem  in  America: 

Introductory  Address,  Charles  Nagel. 

Unemployment  as  a  Coming  Issue,  William  Hard. 

Experience  of  the  National  Employment  Exchange,  E.  W.  Carpenter. 

Recent  Advances  in  the   Struggle  against  Unemployment,   C.   R.   Henderson. 
Safety  and  Health  in  the  Mining  Industry: 

Introductory   Address,   Walter   Fisher. 


Publication  out  of  print. 


Work  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Mines,  J.  A.  Holmes. 
Occupational  Diseases  in  the  Mining  Industry,   S.   C.  Hotchkiss. 
A  Federal  Mining  Commission,  John  R.  Haynes. 

No.  17:     (American  Labor  Legislation  Review  Vol.  II,  No.  2.)   Proceedings 
of  the  Second  National  Conference  on  Indus  trial  Diseases,  1912* 

Symposium   on   Industrial   Diseases: 

Classification  of  Occupational  Diseases,  W.  Oilman  Thompson. 

Compressed-Air  Illness,  Frederick  L.  Keays.    * 

Occupational  Skin  Diseases,  John  A.  Fordyce. 

Occupational  Nervous  and  Mental  Diseases,  Charles  L.  Dana. 

Occupational  Eye  Diseases,  Ellice  Alger. 

Industrial  Poisoning,  David  L.  Edsall. 

The  Need  of  Cooperation  in  Promoting  Industrial  Hygiene,  Henry  R.  Seager. 
Investigation  of  Industrial  Diseases: 

Intensive  Investigations  in  Industrial  Hygiene,  Frederick  L.  Hoffman. 

Compulsory  Reporting  by  Physicians,  Leonard  W.  Hatch. 

Lead  Poisoning  in  New  York  City,  Edward  E.  Pratt. 
Health  Problems  in  Modern  Industry: 

The  Function  of  Hospitals  and  Clinics  in  the  Prevention  of  Industrial  Disease,, 
Richard  Cabot. 

Temperature  and  Humidity  in  Factories,   C.-E.  A.  Winslow. 

Air  Impurities — Dusts,  Fumes,  and  Gases,   Charles  Baskerville. 

Effects  of  Confined  Air  upon  the  Health  of  Workers,  George  M.  Price. 
State    Promotion    of    Industrial    Hygiene: 

Education  for  the  Prevention  of  Industrial  Diseases,   M.  G.  Overlock. 

Notification  of  Occupational  Diseases,   Cressy  L.   Wilbur. 

Medical    Inspection   of   Factories   in    Illinois,   Harold    K.    Gibson. 

Compressed-Air  Illness  in  Caisson  Work,  L.  M.  Ryan. 

Legal  Protection  for  Workers  in  Unhealthful  Trades,  Jokn  B.  Andrews. 
Bibliography  on   Industrial   Hygiene: 

American  Titles. 

Titles  Other  Than  American. 

No.  18:     (American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  Vol.  II,  No.  3.)     Review  of 

Labor  Legislation  of  1912. 
No.  19:     (American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  Vol.  II,  No.  4.)     Immediate 

Legislative  Program. 

One  Day  of  Rest  in  Seven,  Prevention  of  Lead  Poisoning,  Reporting  of  Accidents 
and  Diseases,  Workmen's  Compensation,  Investigation  of  Industrial  Hygiene, 
Protection  for  Working  Women,  Enforcement  of  Labor  Laws. 

No.  20:     (American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  I.)     Proceed- 
ings of  the  Sixth  Annual  Meeting,  1912. 
The  Minimum  Wage: 

The  Theory  of  the  Minimum   Wage,   Henry   R.    Seager. 
Factory  Inspection  and  Labor  Law  Enforcement: 

How  the  Wisconsin  Industrial  Commission  Works,  John  R.   Commons. 
A  Laborer's  View  of  Factory  Inspection,  Henry  Sterling. 
An   Employer's   View   of   Factory   Inspection,    Charles    Sumner    Bird. 
The   Efficiency  of   Present  Factory   Inspection   Machinery  in  the   United    States, 

Edward  F.   Brown. 
Discussion  of  Immediate  Legislative  Program: 

The  Need  of   a  New  Federal  Employee's  Accident   Compensation   Law,    Charles 

Earl. 

Rest  Periods  for  the  Continuous  Industries,  John  A.  Fitch. 
Proposed  Regulations  for  the  Protection  of  Lead  Workers,  Lillian  Erskine. 
Needed   Legislative    Changes    Requiring   the   Notification   of   Accidents   and    Dis- 
eases,  Robert  E.   Chaddock. 

No.  21 :     (American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  2.)     Proceed- 
ings of  the  First  American  Conference  on  Social  Insurance,  1913.- 
Next  Steps  in  Social  Insurance: 

The  Problem  of  Social  Insurance:     An  Analysis,  William  F.  Willoughby. 
Sickness  Insurance,  I.  M.  Rubinow. 
Insurance  against  Unemployment,   Charles   R.    Henderson. 


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